Hey guys, I’m Mike and I’m actually kind of excited that we’re getting another Spider-Man reboot.
I can’t wait to see what director Jon Watts brings to the franchise.
His last film, 'Cop Car,' was awesome. It's an amazing mix between Spielberg and the Coen brothers.
So I can’t wait to see how he tackles ‘Homecoming.’
I love seeing different interpretations of Spidey’s story.
And it’s even cooler to think about what could have been.
Like, did you know that in 1991 James Cameron almost made a Spider-Man movie?
It was never produced due to legal problems, and that’s kind of a shame.
His leaked script has gotten a bad rep among Spidey fans, and don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely weird.
It’s not the most faithful adaptation, but doesn’t mean it would have sucked.
Using Cameron’s treatment and these awesome storyboards courtesy of one talented Italian Spidey-fan,
We’re gonna walk you through the Spider-Man movie you’ve never seen and show you how James Cameron's 'Spider-Man' could have been great.
But first, we’ve gotta talk about the '90s superhero style.
Tim Burton’s 1989 'Batman' movie set a new standard for comic book adaptations.
It was dark.
It was gritty.
It was stylized.
And it was a $400 million, genre-defining success.
After ‘Batman,’ people just assumed that’s what superhero movies had to be like.
And Cameron’s ‘Spider-Man’ is very much in that mold.
It’s pretty violent and definitely R-rated
It’s also a lot less faithful to the comics than the movies we’re used to today.
I know, Spider-Man has alway been a more lighthearted character.
'Sup guys? Wait a minute... You guys aren't the real Avengers! Hulk gives it away!
I like my webslinger kicking butt and cracking jokes too.
That's a cute outfit. Did your husband give it to you?
But the darker tone was what people were looking for in 1991.
And it allowed Cameron to write a Spidey story with way more complex themes.
Cameron’s origin story is more or less the same.
So, like Marvel Studios, we’ll spare you the details this time.
With great power comes great responsibility.
Tragically, there’s no pro wrestling match with Macho Man Randy Savage.
No "BONESAW IS READY!"
Oh man it's so good. I love 'im. Best cameo ever.
Instead, Peter starts his Spider-Man career as a street performer who works his way up to private parties and even public access TV.
But that’s a pretty minor change, especially compared to the controversial organic webbing.
Instead of having fun swinging across rooftops and blasting Dr. Pepper cans, Cameron’s Peter is horrified by the webshooters growing out of his wrists.
He thinks he’s a monster and starts dressing in long-sleeved shirts to hide his gross new body parts.
Peter even makes fake web shooters out of an old watchband.
He’s humiliated by his mutation and wants people to think he invented his webs.
This almost made it into the 2002 film, but it didn’t quite make the final cut.
Peter is afraid of his changing body.
He’s afraid the world will see him as a freak of nature.
It’s heavy stuff about embracing the newfound powers and responsibilities of adulthood.
It’s a theme at the core of nearly every version of Spider-Man, but it’s rarely brought forward this bluntly.
Like when Peter discovers his webshooters after basically having a wet dream.
And of course, there’s the bondage sex scene.
Peter starts researching spiders once he gets his powers, and he learns about a species that ritually webs up its mate.
So when Spidey and MJ hook up on the Brooklyn Bridge, he ties down her arms and legs before doing the deed.
It feels weird to see high-school Peter Parker getting it on, but first love is as much a part of adolescence as acne.
Teenagers. Raging hormones, they never change.
Cameron had the perfect pick in mind for his Peter Parker.
Cameron’s first choice for the role was Leo Dicaprio, just when he was taking off as a sitcom star on Growing Pains.
But if he didn’t work out, Cameron’s second choice might have been even better.
Before we get there, let’s talk about Peter.
In the script, Peter is from Maryland, which makes him even more of an outsider.
Maryland? What's there? I dunno.
Who would want to be an Orioles fan when you could be a Mets fan?
Cameron describes Peter as “awesomely shy and desperately lonely,” which is pretty standard for the character.
Hi M.J. Maybe we could get together sometime?
But this Peter is angry and defiant.
He wears his outcast status like a badge of honor.
And he's really resentful of the rich kids he goes to school with, even Mary Jane.
Jesus, Parker, you are a freak.
As amazing as Leo is, there was only one kid in 1991 who could have pulled off a character this complicated:
Edward Furlong was Cameron’s second choice for Peter Parker, and, frankly, it’s pretty inspired.
Furlong is intense. He’s authentic. He’s got a pottymouth.
F--- you, you little dipshit! Did you call moi a dipshit?
And let’s face it: John Connor and Peter Parker really aren’t that different.
They’re angry young men saddled with unwanted responsibility.
This is my gift. My curse. Who am I? I'm Spider-Man.
She'd shack up with anyone she could learn from so she could teach me to be some great military leader.
It's like, sorry kid, your mom's a psycho, didn't you know? I hated her for that. But everything she said was true.
It’s more than any kid their age should have to deal with.
Cameron got an incredible performance out of Furlong in T2.
Don't forget about 'Pecker!'
Oh, shit! I forgot about 'Pecker!' Yeah, he plays like a photographer in that!
God, it's a Pecker moment!
Can’t you see that kid as an awesome Spider-Man?
So now that we know more about this version of Peter, let’s bring on the bad guys.
Lance Henriksen was going to play the main villain, Carlton Strand.
He's the android from 'Aliens!' That guy is just the perfect ruthless criminal.
He’s kind of a mix between Electro and the Kingpin.
Strand was a small time crook who gets electric powers after an accident and uses them to become a billionaire.
So why didn’t Cameron just call him Max Dillon or Wilson Fisk?
Well, he’s not really either character.
Sure, he’s got Electro’s powers, but in the comics Max Dillon is a clueless thug, not a shrewd businessman. He’s no Gordon Gekko.
Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works.
Electro is a guy who’d use his godlike power to rob a Dairy Queen.
Not Strand.
He used his electric powers to tap into phones and manipulate networks in order to steal a fortune without lifting a finger.
I’ll give it to him, that’s pretty damn clever, but Strand ain’t no Kingpin either.
Wilson Fisk doesn’t need special powers to run an empire.
He sees metahumans as useful tools to be exploited, not members of a new master race.
Carlton Strand has elements of both characters, but he’s unique enough to justify the new name.
Strand also has this henchman named Boyd.
Cameron wanted Michael Biehn for the part.
And he’s basically the Sandman...
Just with a different name.
What's different about him?
Nothing, I can’t really justify this one.
Boyd is just the Sandman.
But that Sandman is basically the T1000
Cameron was clearly in love with CGI shapeshifting in the late '80s and early '90s.
He used it in both The Abyss and T2.
And in his ‘Spider-Man’ treatment the Sandman is morphing and dissolving all the time.
Sure, it’s optimistic for 1991 special effects technology, but I’m sure Cameron would have figured out a cool way to make it work.
Of course he would have. He's James F---ing Cameron.
Before ‘Avatar,’ before ‘Titanic,’ James Cameron was at the height of his game in 1991.
I'm the king of the world!
Dropping blockbuster after blockbuster after blockbuster.
He’s like a 90s Christopher Nolan, a master of kick ass action flicks that also manage to just be amazing movies in their own right.
When studios let an artist like him go wild with a character, they usually deliver.
Cameron’s 47 page script is a fascinating glimpse into the creative process of one of cinema’s greatest storytellers at his peak.
With a lot of work, his rough draft could have kicked off a maybe great, definitely profitable Spider-Man franchise for the 90’s.
Like, Cameron himself said:
He was that confident in his movie. It's nuts.
Sure, there’s a lot to fix and flesh out, but the bones of a really cool movie are in there.
Sam Raimi’s ‘Spider-Man’ was the right movie for it’s more optimistic time.
And ‘Homecoming’ fits right into today’s Cinematic Universe.
But in the same way, Cameron’s script was perfect for the cynicism of the early 90’s.
Viewing it through today’s superhero lens doesn’t do it justice.
Yes, it’s not that faithful to the comics and yes, there are plenty of odd choices and uncomfortable moments...
But look. James Cameron’s 'Spider-Man' would have been a strange movie, but that doesn’t mean it would have been a bad one.
If superhero films teach us anything, it’s that being weird doesn’t stop you from being awesome.