Spider-Man is getting closer to finding its director as a new shortlist has been revealed.
According to Deadline, the upcoming Spider-Man reboot has narrowed it down to just a few new names… and they’re a tad surprising.
“There is 50/50 and Warm Bodies writer/helmer Jonathan Levine; Ted Melfi, writer/director of Golden Globe-nommed St. Vincent; Pitch Perfect helmer Jason Moore; John Francis Daley & Jonathan M. Goldstein, the directors/writers of the updated version of John Hughes’ Vacation; and Napoleon Dynamite and Don Verdean writer/director Jared Hess.”
Of course, the big surprise here is that while Drew Goddard was thought to be a front-runner, his name is now nowhere to be seen. Having brought Marvel’s Daredevil to Netflix with the outstanding new series, many assumed that he had ‘Spider-Man’ in the bag.
But it seems that might not be the case.
“Don’t take this as being all inclusive,” adds Deadline, “but it sounds like things are moving quickly and they could make a decision by the end of next week and make a final choice with studio chief Tom Rothman.”
So perhaps there’s still hope for Goddard yet… and after the huge success of Daredevil, I can’t help thinking he’d be perfect to bring Marvel’s iconic webslinger to the big screen. But it looks as though it’s no longer quite that simple.
For one thing, it looks as though Marvel may be banking on turning Spider-Man into a long-running franchise all of its own.
“There are all kinds of rumors raging about the wall crawler, including that Feige and his producing accomplice Amy Pascal are planning an arc that will tell the Spidey story over three to four movies,” they revealed, “each covering a year of high school for Peter Parker, who’ll already have been bitten by the radioactive spider so we don’t have to see that all over again.”
“The tone they are searching for in the coming of age tale is John Hughes humor and emotion, plus all the superhero stuff.”
Would Drew Goddard still be perfect for that kind of film? After his work on Buffy it’s no secret that he’s accustomed to this kind of story… even if it’s no longer what he’s known for.
But with the likes of Napoleon Dynamite helmer Jared Hess in the mix, perhaps Marvel is keen to move in a very different direction. But for now, we’ll have to wait and see.
The next Spider-Man movie heads to cinemas on 28 July 2017.
Do you think Spider-Man needs Drew Goddard? Who would you like to see at the helm? Let us know what you think in the comments below…
