ROTTEN TOMATOES: James Vanderbilt Talks Spider-Man 4; Venom Spinoff in the Works?

James Vanderbilt Talks Spider-Man 4; Venom Spinoff in the Works?

After the WGA deal, it's full steam ahead for Marvel.

by Jeff Giles | February 04, 2008

The future of Sony's Spider-Man film franchise is cloudy -- for reasons including, but certainly not limited to, the writers' strike -- but at least one member of Spider-Man 4's creative partnership is firmly on board.

According to Comics2Film (reporting from a podcast posted by BlogTalkRadio), screenwriter James Vanderbilt is champing at the bit to get started on the series' fourth installment. In between talking about his work on Zodiac and other projects, Vanderbilt had this to say about the next Spider-Man sequel:

"I went in on that. I really loved the films. It's sort of an odd process, because you're sitting down with the people who made the first three and going, 'Well, let me tell you what to do.' But I was lucky enough that they were interested in me, and I'm a huge fan of those movies, so we closed that up right before the strike. Once the strike's over, I get to go to work."

Though Spider-Man is owned by Marvel, the character's film rights are carried by Sony, so Marvel's interim agreement with the Writers Guild presumably has no impact on development for Spider-Man 4. It seems, however, that Sony's ownership doesn't extend to Spidey's nemesis, Venom.

IESB reports that "'the studio' has met recently with several 'A-list writers' about a spinoff film" for the goopy black alien symbiote whose introduction to Peter Parker -- and later Eddie Brock -- was portrayed in Spider-Man 3. As IESB notes, it seems safe to assume that Marvel owns Venom's film rights despite the character's appearance in the Spider-Man trilogy, otherwise meetings with writers wouldn't be taking place. There's no word on whether Eddie Brock would appear in the film, or if Topher Grace would reprise his portrayal of the character.

To get the full scoop on both of these stories, follow the links below!

Source: BlogTalkRadio (James Vanderbilt interview)
Source: IESB (Venom film story)

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(1-20 of 45 posts) | Reply

silkysmitty3 writes:
on Feb 04 2008 06:06 AM

sweet. they are going to ruin another movie. long live the pigs who don't give a **** abou t anything.

(Reply to this)

MarkMortimer writes:
on Feb 04 2008 06:24 AM

I am not excited by this news. I would be even less excited if Topher (pinocchio) Grace portrayed Venom ever again.

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Xavier Telouran writes:
on Feb 04 2008 06:58 AM

So, are we just talking about a spinoff because we realize how sorely mistreated the character was in Spidey 3? Even so, how does a Venom stand-alone work w/o his nemesis? I realize there have been some big Venom non-Spidey related stories lately, but how do you reintroduce the character and his motives without having to undo the poor web already spun?

Still, it's a big first step admitting that Raimi's treatment of Brock/Venom was extremely sub-par. Now you just have to make the other 11 steps...

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TombstoneLawDog writes:
on Feb 04 2008 07:01 AM

Awesome! Let's talk spin-offs!

I've always wanted to see Gleek, that 'comic relief' monkey from the Wonder Twins, get his own chance to shine! If ever there was a character needing his own stage...

Hey, I'm just getting warmed up...

Let's do another take on 'young Lex Luthor', *WITHOUT* Superman! Talk about his motivation, and his childhood battles. Who needs an actual defining character (like Superman) to make sidekicks and villains relevant?! GIVE EVERY character from EVERY superhero movie a shot!

Oh boy, I really hope they make this Venom spin-off into a franchise where they COMPLETELY IGNORE Spider Man! Not only would that make a lot of sense (seeing as how Venom is nothing more than an evil 'caricature' OF Spiderman) but then they would be even LESS encumbered by any story continuity or logic! They could churn these out like cheap Alien re-treads! Freakin' awesome!***

***If you look really closely, you just may spot the sarcasm hiding in this post.

--I'm a little hopped up on caffeine and the Giants win, last night, so I admit this was a little over-the-top.

(Reply to this)

AlbertBrodsky writes:
on Feb 04 2008 07:01 AM

Um... didn't that director I once really liked kill Venom at the end of the movie. It sure looked like it.

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jokerboy1991 writes:
on Feb 04 2008 07:18 AM

I wanna see one final spiderman with everyobe (Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire, and Kirsten dunst - no more singing Ms. Dunst!). I wannt to see them make it right for the 3rd one. It could be a great movie with Vanderbilt (ZODIAC was great) writing, the biggest problem was S3 was the crappy dialogue. It also had bad acting (not there fault), stupid music, stupid eye lash, stupid dances, and much much more! I wonder what villians they would use though- Carnage(no), Electro, Mysterio (that could work), that bird man or what ever his name is.

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fullmetalnek writes:
on Feb 04 2008 07:27 AM

The Vulture, but he would suck as a main villian in a movie.

Sam Raimi should apologize for the third movie and then remake it!

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Weicher writes:
on Feb 04 2008 07:30 AM

I really didn't care for any Spidey film, except maybe the second. So... I guess they would rather let this franchise sleep in peace and find other (and more original) projects...

Spidey comic-books are not that good anyway, and never have been, except that Spidey-Kraven story-line in the late 80s, written by J.M. DeMatteis and pencilled by Mike Zeck. It's the only Spider-Man's story I would really like to see in the big screen.

But I guess it's too gritty and dark and psychological for children to see, so...

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Oblivioncry writes:
on Feb 04 2008 08:13 AM

not sam raimi but sony should apologize...they forced him into making the film bad...

(Reply to this)

sharpless writes:
on Feb 04 2008 08:28 AM

In reply to this comment (#1552213)
For heaven's sake, man, do you know nothing about comic books? Killing people doesn't mean sh*t. He'll be back, if they want him to be. And I'm all for it, so long as Raimi is far away from Venom. Raimi clearly didn't respect the character enough, and he completely wasted him.

I'm all for a Venom movie, or a return in a Spiderman 4... again, so long as Raimi isn't directing or writing. Venom deserves a proper movie, and Spiderman 4 couldn't possibly be much worse than 3.

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AlbertBrodsky writes:
on Feb 04 2008 08:33 AM

When I watch Spiderman on DVD, I can tell evertime they use CGI instead of actual footage. I can't imagine how bad that movie would look in HD. I agree that the second one was the only really good one, but the first one has some good moments. Peter Parker's transformation was well done.
The black suit story was one of my favorites as a kid, it's too bad they ruined it. Maybe in 10 years they can try again with a whole new production, but for now it would be too soon.

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Marineboy writes:
on Feb 04 2008 09:25 AM

I think Raimi should leave on a (relative) high - move on to those Evil Dead remakes he's been promising...hmmmm...

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ThinPhantom writes:
on Feb 04 2008 09:33 AM

i think all comic book movies should cease production until studios realize that people want to see the characters treated with respect. i would also argue that with the exception of sin city, not one comic book movie has captured the visual impact or creativity that two dimensional drawings on paper have.

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DrnkonShdws writes:
on Feb 04 2008 10:10 AM

PLEASE GOD NO MORE TOPHER GRACE PLEASE!!!

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Oblivioncry writes:
on Feb 04 2008 10:16 AM

In reply to this comment (#1552498)
Batman Begins....

and give raimi some respect..spidey 2 is really good.

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mysteriousone writes:
on Feb 04 2008 10:38 AM

In reply to this comment (#1552241)
you are clearly not a spider-man fan. spider-man has one of the largest and most devoted fan following of any character. like any character he has had some ****ty stories, but many fantastic ones as well. i loved the first 2 spider-man movies and i feel a fourth is absolutely necessary to redeem the third. after that, i will be happy if they let the franchise end on a positive note.

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jokerboy1991 writes:
on Feb 04 2008 10:45 AM

Spiderman 1 was pretty good, the second spidey was GREAT, and ofcourse the third one well u guys all know. I would actually like to see them do CARNAGE ,but make it more serious. I would wanna see Sam Raimi come back with some seriousnes. I wouldn't really wanna see Dylan Baker become THE LIZARD. They need to do just one villian, either CARNAGE or MYSTERIO.

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CalvinandHobbes23 writes:
on Feb 04 2008 10:53 AM

they could make a venom movie and introduce carnage,

then maybe the two of them could battle it out in new york,
i'd go see that

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ThinPhantom writes:
on Feb 04 2008 10:59 AM

In reply to this comment (#1552556)
i give you batman begins. can't wait for the next one. but spidey 2 sucked imo.

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Oblivioncry writes:
on Feb 04 2008 11:15 AM

In reply to this comment (#1552681)
really? ^^ i thought so too when i watched it the first time, but after some months i watched it again, and it really was good, and aunt may wasnt really that annoying, i really loved the part where peter visits her while she is moving out or something with this boy helping her

(Reply to this)

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