See The 1980s Spider-Man Movie That Almost Got Made
Before the MCU and Sony’s Spider-Man, starring Tom Holland, became the best cinematographic iteration of the fan-favorite character, Marvel fans had Sam Raimi’s trilogy as well as the Amazing Spider-Man duology to resort to if they wanted to watch a Spider-Man film. However, there was also another Spider-Man movie in the making that, sadly, never saw the light of day.
Check out the trailer below:
The rather short trailer made by Cannon Films shows a view of the city and a short take of a spider before revealing the iconic Spider-Man, with the superhero striking a pose on top. There’s not really much to look at, but it’s interesting to see that some movie companies still wanted to make a superhero movie. Many still remember seeing an ad for this particular Spider-Man movie in Starlog magazine, which was the main source of geek news before the internet was a thing—sadly, most of the movies that were advertised never got made.
Cannon chiefs Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus completely misunderstood the concept of Spider-Man, instructing writer Leslie Stevens to write a movie treatment based on their misconception
That’s also the case with the 1980s Spider-Man movie; the project pitch came at a really bad time for superhero movies, which eventually pushed the entire project into oblivion until Sam Raimi decided to revive the franchise. Namely, the abysmal box office performance of 1983’s Superman III made comic book adaptations a very low priority in the movie industry at the time. Despite that, in 1985, Marvel Comics decided to provide movie rights to Cannon Films after Roger Corman’s option expired, with Cannon paying $225,000 over the five-year option period.
Writers Ted Newsom and John Brancato wrote the new story, according to which Otto Octavius triggered a cyclotron accident that turned Peter into Spider-Man while also deforming Octavius into Doctor Octopus
On top of nearly a quarter of a million, Marvel also asked for a percentage of any film’s revenues, with the clause that reverted the rights to Marvel if the Spider-Man movie wasn’t done by April 1990. However, Cannon chiefs Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus completely misunderstood the concept of Spider-Man, instructing writer Leslie Stevens to write a movie treatment based on their misconception, resulting in a story in which Peter Parker becomes exposed to radioactive bombardment and turns into a spider-human hybrid—a rather hairy one with eight arms.
As one might imagine, this didn’t sit well with the late Stan Lee, who pushed for a new story, and a completely new screenplay. Writers Ted Newsom and John Brancato wrote the new story, according to which Otto Octavius triggered a cyclotron accident that turned Peter into Spider-Man while also deforming Octavius into Doctor Octopus, resulting in his mad pursuit of proof of the Fifth Force. Stan Lee actually liked the script, and Cannon planned to make the film on a $15-20 million budget—considered substantial at the time.
Stan Lee actually liked the revised script, and Cannon planned to make the film on a $15-20 million budget—considered substantial at the time.
Sadly, the company later changed its decision and slashed the budget, later shutting down the entire project after spending some $1.5 million on production. Thus, the movie was never made, and in 1990, the right reverted back to Marvel, with 21st Century talking to Columbia Pictures about making a Spider-Man movie. This eventually did come to fruition, but not before Sony Pictures acquired the rights to produce and distribute Spider-Man movies, leading to the creation and release of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man in 2002.
