In fewer than two decades, the Spider-Man franchise has already amassed a history of stops and restarts. But the most surprising were the sudden cancellations of Amazing Spider-Man 3 and the spin-offs planned to follow. It was confusing and strange, but there's an interesting story behind why the sequel to a successful movie got tossed in the garbage. Watch our video above or read on below to get the full scoop, and don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more awesome videos.
Getty Images
The Reboot
After Sam Raimi's withdrawal from Spider-Man 4 because of studio interference, among other things, Sony Pictures decided to reboot the franchise. The new series starred Andrew Garfield and relatively new director Marc Webb. It was a bold move for Sony, since Raimi and Tobey Maguire's collaborations were proven box-office draws. However, the studio wanted someone younger in the role of Peter Parker, feeling the story of Spider-Man is the story of "a boy trying to become a man," according to Collider. While some fans expressed sadness over the loss of Maguire, they were happy there was going to be another Spider-Man movie of some kind. Plus, we wouldn't have to look at that weird, confused expression Maguire makes when he's acting.
Joining The Marvel Cinematic Universe
According to documents made public by the hacks, Sony worked out a deal with Marvel to bring Spider-Man into Marvel's cinematic universe. Fanboys and fangirls around the world squealed in delight. Since then, it's been revealed that Spidey would make his debut in a big way, as part of Captain America: Civil War. This puts Spidey in line to participate in Marvel's climactic Avengers: Infinity War movies, something a lot of fans, Hugh "Wolverine" Jackman included, want to see. But while all this is great news, it's not the only thing the hacks revealed.
Garfield Got Himself Fired
Andrew Garfield helped pave the way for this new direction for Spider-Man. It's also the actual reason plans for Amazing Spider-Man 3 got canceled. According to a series of emails obtained by Showbiz411, Garfield was supposed to attend a gala after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where he'd have been announced as the star of Amazing Spider-Man 3 by Sony bigwig Kaz Hirai, but Garfield cancelled at the last minute. Garfield most likely cancelled due to feeling under the weather from the long flight there, which is understandable. But still, Hirai felt slighted. And some of the execs not only agreed, but felt that it was a slight against the company as well. So Garfield was out. A man lost a job because someone's feelings got hurt. That's professionalism! And the old Parker luck in action…