When Sony Considered Getting Spider-Man Out of New York

[Mister Mets]

Bleeding Cool has a piece on Sony's internal discussions about the Spider-Man films. Exec Hannah Minghella wondered if setting the films in Manhattan was a disadvantage. She also thought the villains needed bigger stakes.

Through all the recent marketing conversations about the trailer I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the next Spider-Man movie. I know we all agree that we have to keep moving the franchise in a new direction and find new frontiers for our hero to explore. With that in mind I have two thoughts I wanted to share –

– one of the reasons it’s hard to think of new visually iconic moments for Spidey is because we’ve made five movies in Manhattan. For as long as he’s swinging down city streets, and under bridges, and down alley ways, and up skyscrapers, and through subway tunnels, there is always going to be a familiarity to the action. I genuinely believe that Oscorp is a global corporation with offices and secret research facilities all around the world and I think it’s time we see Spidey in different and unique environments. I’m not suggesting the whole movie take place somewhere else but I’d love to see Spidey in another iconic city like Tokyo or Paris or London… or somewhere completely different like Istanbul or Monte Carlo… or out at a secret Oscorp compound in the dessert… or snow (picture that blue and red against a blanket of white). And how do those different environments interact with his powers? What happens when he’s out at sea on a boat and can’t swing away? Or in a jungle swinging through trees.

– also, in the last two movies the stakes have been deeply personal. While this is emotionally satisfying and the movies must always be personal, I feel that spidey’s heroism is limited by the intentions of our villains. The plots have been somewhat insular and it’s time to open it up. In the first movie a few people were infected by the Lizard’s gas but the threat never felt that big. In this movie Electro threatens a black-out but despite two planes nearly colliding it’s not clear what his intentions are beyond turning the lights off. One of the ways the Marvel and Batman movies get their scope is by having villains with agendas that go beyond the heroes themselves and have more serious implications for the world at large.

I genuinely believe it’s possible to achieve both of the above ideas without losing what is essential and iconic about Spider-Man. I genuinely love the last two movies we’ve made but as we contemplate making a 6th spidey movie I think it’s time to shake it up a little more… anyway, all food for thought…

[Rahul]

Bleeding Cool has a piece on Sony's internal discussions about the Spider-Man films. Exec Hannah Minghella wondered if setting the films in Manhattan was a disadvantage. She also thought the villains needed bigger stakes.

I do think that it's a problem in the comics.

People say, "but that's part of Spider-Man, you can't take him out of it!". But I think some ideas should be thrown aside for a while to avoid stagnancy.

[Immortal Weapon]

I wouldn't mind Spidey visiting other locations in his films. Peter web slinging through Tokyo or London would be great to see.

[Vegeta]

I wouldn't mind Spidey visiting other locations in his films. Peter web slinging through Tokyo or London would be great to see.

Yeah, it'd also be interesting to see Spidey perhaps warmly welcomed by these other cities as opposed to being considered a menace in NYC. (I personally liked when the X-men moved to San Francisco in the books where they weren't "hated and feared" for a change.)

One of the ways the Marvel and Batman movies get their scope is by having villains with agendas that go beyond the heroes themselves and have more serious implications for the world at large.

I agree with this, it looks bad when all the damage incurred is due to a petty rivalry between the hero and villain that could've been avoided with the hero walking away. Even if there is a personal connection, the bad guys have to be a threat to everyone's safety and freedom to justify the collateral damage witnessed on the big screen.

[Scott Taylor]

The closest comparison I can make is to Batman. We have seen him go to other cities besides Gotham in the Dark Knight trilogy (was it Tokyo?) with mixed success. Because he was Bruce Wayne, it gave him an excuse to be there for business purposes. For Peter its trickier since he is poor and really has no excuse to up and travel the world on someone else's tab. Not saying its impossible, but its unlikely to happen give the character. It would likely feel trumped up or artificial to just have him move to another city. And it would remove him from his supporting cast, which is a vital part of the soap opera aspects.

My read is that Sony doesn't really get the character still.

[JBatmanFan05]

Exec Hannah Minghella has a small legit claim on the stakes point, maybe. But the "outta Manhattan" one is much less legit. Yes, Spidey has had some exotic adventures outside of NYC, but you do start nearing crossing the line of losing what is "essential and iconic about Spider-Man." Those outside-NYC stories are fewer and far between and will confuse the character and fans.

Spider-Man isn't Batman. Isn't Superman.

But she sorta saves herself with "I’m not suggesting the whole movie take place somewhere else."

[jimishim12]

Peter can go to any city he wants to. As long as his iconic web slinging and agility stays a point.

[Kevinroc]

The closest comparison I can make is to Batman. We have seen him go to other cities besides Gotham in the Dark Knight trilogy (was it Tokyo?) with mixed success. Because he was Bruce Wayne, it gave him an excuse to be there for business purposes. For Peter its trickier since he is poor and really has no excuse to up and travel the world on someone else's tab. Not saying its impossible, but its unlikely to happen give the character. It would likely feel trumped up or artificial to just have him move to another city. And it would remove him from his supporting cast, which is a vital part of the soap opera aspects.

My read is that Sony doesn't really get the character still.

(The city in Dark Knight was Hong Kong.)

My read is similar to yours. It's not impossible to get Spidey out of New York, but the rewards don't really feel worth it.

Of course, Sony almost made a Sinister Six movie in the Savage Land. So maybe combining super heroes with dinosaurs actually does have major potential financial rewards.

[Scott Taylor]

Of course, Sony almost made a Sinister Six movie in the Savage Land. So maybe combining super heroes with dinosaurs actually does have major potential financial rewards.

If Dinosaurs manage to invade New York (Stegron as a villain, anyone?) that could really work for me as an excuse for the Sinister Six to be fighting them. Them going to the Savage Land, though, no. Maybe something like how Salvation Run worked.

[Mister Mets]

Spider-Man generally belongs in New York, but it could be interesting to take him out of his element. And there is a problem that the films started to get repetitive. Sticking a young guy with powers in a new environment for a chunk of the film could shake things up a bit, and add to the production value.

[Kevinroc]

If Dinosaurs manage to invade New York (Stegron as a villain, anyone?) that could really work for me as an excuse for the Sinister Six to be fighting them. Them going to the Savage Land, though, no. Maybe something like how Salvation Run worked.

The Savage Land will be a tourist attraction in the MCU.

Or would they be part of the X-Men/Fantastic Four Fox license?

[cyberhubbs]

There's visiting and then there's living. And even the latter can be temporary. Move him somewhere for a short period, get him out of his NY element, see how he reacts. And of course have him meet new people.

[Frontier]

The Savage Land will be a tourist attraction in the MCU.

Or would they be part of the X-Men/Fantastic Four Fox license?

I actually have been curious about that...it appears a reasonable amount in the Marvel cartoons, and they tend to focus on only properties Marvel owns the movie rights too, so I'm tempted to think that it is even if the X-Men might have more of a connection to it.

[JBatmanFan05]

Another problem is that Peter isn't Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark. So how's he gonna get around? A slow 747 flight makes him look ill-equipped for the mission already (it's sorta Spidey-like, but also almost too silly), and getting a ride with Shield or the Avengers is not street-level enough (and invites another questions about what more they could help with).


Maybe the only thing Marvel could do is have some villain start some threat while Peter is on vacation, and then the threat moves to NYC. No idea what villain would fit with that, which is a problem.

[Scott Taylor]

Marvel's biggest challenge here is that they have had two remarkably different false starts with the Spider-Man franchise. Yes, I know it wasn't really Marvel but Sony. Doesn't matter. Marvel has no current established Spider-Man that they can take out of his element.