USA. On May 3, 2002, Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” premiered, the wonderful story of the spider-man that laid the foundations of the current superhero cinema, and that 20 years later, continues to conquer millions of people thanks to the kindness and generosity of the closest superhero.
The film follows the life of young Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), a shy student who lives with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben after the death of his parents. One day he is bitten by a spider that has been genetically modified, and the next morning, he discovers that he possesses the strength and agility of that insect. This is how he becomes Spider-Man and decides to use his new abilities in the service of good.
At the same time, his friend Harry’s (James Franco) father, wealthy industrialist Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe), is the victim of a chemical accident that has vastly increased his intellectual powers and strength, but has driven him insane. He thus becomes the Green Goblin, a demonic creature that threatens the city.
Despite the fact that Maguire was the actor chosen by Sony to bring the spider character to life in his first film shot in the USA, Stan Lee never really felt convinced by his performance. According to the co-creator of the Marvel Universe, if someone had to embody Peter Parker, it was actor John Cusack.
With the cast already chosen, filming was scheduled to begin in November 2000 in New York City, to allow time for its release the following year. However, the whole thing had to be postponed for a year and filming officially began on January 8, 2001.
This date is remarkable because many of the images on the film were shot in New York in 2001, the date by which the twin towers were still intact at the time. After what happened on 9/11, Sony Pictures decided to remove part of the montage that featured the towers.
It was known that “Spider-Man” was going to be one of the film events of the year, but what no one suspected is that Sam Raimi’s film about the hero created in 1962 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko would unseat films from figures that seemed unbeatable, thus becoming one of the best and most valued superhero films of its generation.
Despite the fact that the Spider-Man comics had already had film adaptations that were released on television, it ranked third at the box office that year with a total gross of $821 million, trailing only “Mr. the Rings: The Two Towers” and “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”, according to data from the specialized website Box Office Mojo.
Such was the success of both the interpretation of its protagonists (Maguire, Kristen Dunst and Dafoe) and the direction of Raimi, that two sequels were made in 2004 and 2007 with the same team.
It also managed to sneak into the Oscar nominations, a remarkable achievement for a superhero film, although only in technical categories: Best Sound and Best Visual Effects. In this last section she was also nominated in the British Bafta.
And although he did not win an Oscar or Bafta, he did manage to win awards at the Saturn Awardsthe People’s Choice Awards or the Teen Choice Awards.
Now, 20 years after its premiere, Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker is still on the lips of Marvel fans, and more so after his starring appearance alongside Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man in the latest film “Spider-Man: No way Home.” “, with Tom Holland as the new protagonist.
In addition, some US media suggest that Tobey Maguire could also have a scene in the new Marvel film that is about to be released, “Doctor Strange in the multiverse of madness”, also directed by Raimi.
Read more: Gilded Age: What is the Met Gala 2022 theme and what is it about?
After the premiere of the latest film of the superhero, Raimi spoke of the possibility of making a fourth installment of “Spider-Man” starring Maguire, assuring that “everything is possible in the Marvel Universe.”
#Maguires #SpiderMan #turns #Marvel #fan #favorite