20 facts you might not know about 'Spider-Man'

Marvel first tried to get a Spider-Man movie made in the early 1980s. Roger Corman got the rights, and if you know anything about Corman, you know it would have been a low-budget affair — not a blockbuster superhero movie. Stan Lee actually worked on the screenplay, which would have been set in the Cold War. The project fell through due to budgetary disagreements.

After Corman’s project went under, the infamous producing duo of Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus bought the rights while they were running The Cannon Group. The two schlockmeisters evidently didn’t know the source material and assumed that this Spider-Man was more like the Wolfman. A horror screenplay was written, and horror director Tobe Hooper was hired to helm the project. However, Lee refused to sign off on the horror take on Spidey.

The horror script was nixed, and Joseph Zito was hired to direct. They had some lofty goals for this version. Katharine Hepburn or Lauren Bacall was who they had in mind for Aunt May. Bob Hoskins was in the running for Doctor Octopus. As for Spider-Man, the producers wanted Tom Cruise, while Zito wanted…stuntman Scott Leva.

Golan, now flying solo, tried one last time to get a Spider-Man movie off the ground. At this point, none other than James Cameron was brought on board. Cameron was already a big name at this point, so he was allowed to write and direct. His version was an R-rated take on the story, including a lot of swearing and a sex scene between Spider-Man and Mary Jane. In never happened, but in 1997, Cameron said in an interview he considered Leonardo DiCaprio, Edward Furlong, and Charlie Sheen for his Spider-Man.

In 1996, Golan’s 21st Century Film Corporation, Carolco Pictures, and Marvel all filed for bankruptcy. In 1998, Marvel emerged from bankruptcy, and Golan’s option on a Spider-Man movie expired, reverting back to Marvel. They were then able to strike a deal with Sony, the company who would finally get Spider-Man made.

Sony acquired the rights to every version of Spider-Man that had already been worked on. However, it only exercised its option on Cameron’s material. This included a screenplay with multiple writers, and a 40-page “scriptment” written by Cameron himself. A “scriptment” is somewhere between a treatment (a narrative telling of a movie’s plot) and a script.

Sony cast a wide net looking for a director. They considered Michael Bay, Chris Columbus, M. Night Shyamalan, Ang Lee, Tony Scott, David Fincher, and more. Fincher was nixed after he asked to not do an origin story. Columbus, meanwhile, declined so he could direct Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

Lee may have been against a horror take on Spider-Man, and Hooper may not have gotten to direct the movie, but a horror legend ended up on the project anyway. Sam Raimi ended up with the gig. He made his name with the Evil Dead trilogy. A fan of the character since childhood, Raimi’s enthusiasm for directing a Spider-Man movie reportedly got him the gig.

Jumping off from Cameron’s script, the villains were originally the duo of Electro and Sandman. When David Koepp was hired to write a new screenplay, he went with Green Goblin…and Doctor Octopus. Raimi didn’t want Doc Ock involved, feeling it was too busy. Scott Rosenberg was hired to do a rewrite, and he cut out the Doctor. Then, Alvin Sargent was hired to spruce up the dialog. Interestingly, all three plus Cameron had their names submitted to the WGA for credit, but Rosenberg, Sargent, and Cameron all voluntarily removed their names from consideration. Koepp got sole credit.

A lot of actors were considered for the big role of Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man. Two of the actors who auditioned were James Franco and Joe Manganiello. Neither got the role, but they both ended up in the film. Franco played Harry Osborn, while Manganiello played “Flash” Thompson.

While a multitude of actors auditioned, the man Raimi wanted for the role was Tobey Maguire, who ended up getting it. Raimi wanted him in the role after seeing Maguire in The Cider House Rules. Some people at the studio were concerned Maguire wasn’t “action star” enough, but Maguire trained for months, including taking martial arts and climbing lessons.

Nicolas Cage always wanted to play Superman, but apparently not every comic book role was worthwhile to him. Cage reportedly turned down the chance to play Green Goblin in Spider-Man. Also turning down the role were Jim Carrey and John Malkovich. In the end, Willem Dafoe took the role.

In theory, whenever Norman Osborn was in his Green Goblin suit, Dafoe didn’t have to be on screen. A stuntman could have been used. That wouldn’t fly with Dafoe, though, who felt a stunt person wouldn’t convey his character’s body language properly. The actor went through the half-hour process of putting the uncomfortable suit on to play the Green Goblin even when you couldn’t see him.

Actresses like Kate Bosworth, Eliza Dushku, and Elizabeth Banks auditioned to play Mary Jane Watson. One person who didn’t audition at first? That would be Dunst. When Maguire was cast, she was concerned the film would have an “independent movie” vibe, and that she wouldn’t be right for it. Of course, Dunst did audition eventually and got the role.

Lee had wanted to play J. Jonah Jameson himself, but the producers felt he was too old for the role. Ultimately, Simmons ended up playing the publisher of the “Daily Bugle.” How did Simmons find that out? A fan who read about it on a Spider-Man website. A few hours later, Simmons agent called him to tell him the news.

Raimi was able to give parts to two of his longtime collaborators. One was his brother, Ted, who plays Ted Hoffman of the “Daily Bugle.” Then, there’s Bruce Campbell, who starred as Ash in the Evil Dead trilogy. He plays the announcer at the wrestling match. By the way, “Macho Man” Randy Savage plays the wrestler Bonesaw McGraw.

Brock is a key figure in the Spider-Man universe. He appears in Spider-Man 3, played by Topher Grace. He also showed up sooner, though. An actor named R.C Everbeck was cast to play Brock, but his scenes were cut.

Spider-Man began shooting in November 2000. Spidey is a New York boy, and the film is set in the Big Apple. Unfortunately, before the movie was released, the September 11 attacks occurred. That meant certain scenes had to be reshot, and the Twin Towers had to be digitally removed. Also, posters that featured the Twin Towers had to be recalled as well.

Marvel is probably happy Corman never got to make his Spider-Man, given how successful Sony’s version became. It made $114.8 million in its first weekend, making it the first movie to cross $100 million in a single weekend, even when adjusting for inflation. When all was said and done, it made $825 million worldwide. Spider-Man was the highest-grossing superhero movie until The Dark Knight, and the highest-grossing Sony movie until Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.

Spider-Man gave us Spider-Man 2, which many consider one of the best superhero movies ever. They made a third film in this series as well, which was less well received. Raimi was in line to direct a fourth film, but it didn’t end up happening. There was a reboot with Andrew Garfield that lasted two films, and then Tom Holland donned Spider-Man’s outfit. The third film in that series, of course, gave us a little taste of this 2002 classic as well.