It was directed by E. W. Swackhamer, written by Alvin Boretz and stars Nicholas Hammond as the titular character, David White as J. Jonah Jameson and Jeff Donnell as May Parker.
Cannon chiefs Menahem Golan and his cousin Yoram Globus agreed to pay Marvel Comics $225,000 over the five-year option period, plus a percentage of any film's revenues.
Golan and Globus misunderstood the concept of the character ("They thought it was like The Wolf Man", said director Joseph Zito)[12] and instructed writer Leslie Stevens, creator of The Outer Limits, to write a treatment reflecting their misconception.
In Stevens' story, a corporate scientist intentionally subjects ID-badge photographer Peter Parker to radioactive bombardment, transforming him into a hairy, suicidal, eight-armed monster.
[12][13] Unhappy with this perceived debasement of his comic book creation, Marvel's Stan Lee pushed for a new story and screenplay, written for Cannon by Ted Newsom and John Brancato.
Cohen added action scenes, a non-canonical comic-book sidekick for the villain, gave Doc Ock the catch phrase, "Okey-dokey", and altered his goal from the Fifth Force to a quest for anti-gravity.
[10] While no casting was finalized, Zito expressed interest in actor/stunt man Scott Leva, who had posed for Cannon's promotional photos and ads, and made public appearances as Spider-Man for Marvel.
[16] Lauren Bacall and Katharine Hepburn were considered for Aunt May, Gregory Peck and Paul Newman as Uncle Ben, Peter Cushing as a sympathetic scientist, and Adolph Caesar as a police detective.
[14] With Cannon finances siphoned by the expensive Superman IV: The Quest for Peace and Masters of the Universe, the company slashed the proposed Spider-Man budget to under $10 million.
The filmmaking cousins parted, Globus remaining associated with Pathé, Golan leaving to run 21st Century Film Corporation, keeping a number of properties (including Spider-Man) in lieu of a cash buy-out.
[17] At Cannes in May 1989, 21st Century announced a September start date, with ads touting the script by "Barney Cohen, Ted Newsom & John Brancato and Joseph Goldman".
Instead of Flint Marko's character, Cameron's "Sandman" (simply named Boyd) is mutated by an accident involving Philadelphia Experiment-style bilocation and atom-mixing, in lieu of getting caught in a nuclear blast on a beach.
[27] This treatment reflected elements in previous scripts: from the Stevens treatment, organic web-shooters, and a villain who tempts Spider-Man to join a coming "master race" of mutants; from the original screenplay and rewrite, weird electrical storms causing blackouts, freak magnetic events and bi-location; from the Ethan Wiley draft, a villain addicted to toxic super-powers and multiple experimental spiders, one of which escapes and bites Peter, causing a hallucinatory nightmare invoking Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis; from the Frank LaLoggia script, a blizzard of stolen cash fluttering down onto surprised New Yorkers; and from the Neil Ruttenberg screenplay, a criminal assault on the NYC Stock Exchange.
[28] During this time Leonardo DiCaprio was considered for Peter Parker/Spider-Man; Maggie Smith as Aunt May; Robyn Lively as Mary Jane Watson; R. Lee Ermey as J. Jonah Jameson; Michael Biehn as Boyd/Sandman; and Lance Henriksen as Carlton Strand/Electro.
Via a quitclaim from Carolco dated March 28, 1995, MGM acquired 21st Century's film library and assets, and received "...all rights in and to all drafts and versions of the screenplay(s) for Spider-Man written by James Cameron, Ted Newsom & John Brancato, Menahem Golan, Jon [sic] Michael Paul, Ethan Wiley, Leslie Stevens, Frank Laloggia, Neil Ruttenberg, Barney Cohen, Shepard Goldman and any and all other writers.
Spider-Man contends with scientist Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), also known as Doctor Octopus, who initially mentors his alter-ego and has four mechanical tentacles fused to his spine following a failed fusion-based experiment and sets out to recreate the same that could destroy much of New York City.
[44] In 2007, Raimi expressed interest in depicting the transformation of Dr. Curt Connors into his villainous alter-ego, the Lizard; the character's actor Dylan Baker and producer Grant Curtis were also enthusiastic about the idea.
[52] Concept art by storyboard artist Jeffrey Henderson revealed in June 2016 showed the inclusion of an opening montage of Spider-Man going up against C and D-list villains, such as Mysterio, the Shocker, the Prowler, the Stilt-Man and the Rhino, with the Vulture serving as the main antagonist; Henderson recalls that the film would have opened with a montage of Spider-Man, now feeling free after breaking up with Mary Jane, catching all villains from his rogues gallery that the crew knew Raimi would never use in his films.
Studio politics, creative differences and bad internet reactions (to John Malkovich as Vulture) caused the plug to be pulled December of 2009, early in the prep stage.
[59] In addition, both director Sam Raimi and actress Kirsten Dunst expressed interest in a possible return in a fourth film, while Tobey Maguire stated that he is "open for anything".
Peter Parker graduates from high school, continues his crime-fighting duties as Spider-Man, while combating the electricity-manipulating Electro (Jamie Foxx), rekindling his relationship with Gwen Stacy, and encountering his old friend Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), who is slowly dying from a genetic disease.
Despite the announcement in February 2015 of a new series with Marvel Studios, the Sinister Six, Venom, and female-led spin-off films set in the Amazing Spider-Man timeline were then "still moving forward".
During the fight with Rogers and his team, Parker, utilizing a Stark-upgraded version of his initial makeshift suit, proves to be a formidable opponent, and implements a tactic with which he, Stark, James Rhodes / War Machine and Vision disable Scott Lang / Ant-Man in his giant-sized form.
[138] Watts returned to direct, and Holland, Zendaya, Favreau, Batalon, Tomei, and Revolori reprise their roles from Homecoming, with Jake Gyllenhaal joining as Quentin Beck / Mysterio.
[159] The sequel, which continues Morales' story and features a romance with Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman,[160] was directed by Joaquim Dos Santos and written by David Callaham.
It focuses on Miles Morales' life as he, overwhelmed by school work, exams and relationships, as well as his secret identity as Spider-Man, "starts to feel the pressure [...], which results in a scary, trippy little jaunt through his subconscious.
[171][166][172] Along with the announcement of a sequel, a spin-off focused on female Spider-characters was revealed to be in development, with Lauren Montgomery in talks to direct the film, while Bek Smith is set to write.
The mid-credits scene of Let There Be Carnage sees Eddie Brock and Venom transported from their hotel to an unfamiliar location and witnessing the MCU version of J. Jonah Jameson talking about Spider-Man's identity as Peter Parker.
Following the casting of Doctor Strange's second spell permanently erasing the world's knowledge of Peter Parker's civilian identity, Toomes is accidentally transported from the MCU to the SSU, ending up in a vacated prison cell in the latter universe.
[176] On May 31, 2010, an animated 4D film, titled Marvel Super Heroes 4D, was launched at Madame Tussauds London, featuring Spider-Man and Iron Man leading the Avengers against Doctor Doom.