It’s mind boggling how many writers blockbuster movie scripts go through. Between studio notes, director notes and rewrite after rewrite, it’s impossible to even know which wordsmiths’ words are being spoken onscreen. These movies are practically written by focus groups. So the fact that Spider-Man 4 has only gone through three writers (that we know of) so far isn’t so bad.
The newest writer added to that bunch is Gary Ross, according to Variety. Gary Ross will be providing the third rewrite of the Spider-Man 4 script, with the first two drafts being taken care of by James Vanderbilt and David Lindsay-Abaire, respectively. Ross comes aboard with plenty of Tobey Maguire experience, having written and directed Seabiscuit and Pleasantville, two of Tobey’s few non-Spidey flicks.
This is to be expected of a movie as big as Spider-Man 4, especially after the lackluster fan reaction of the last movie. While big bucks are obviously the first priority, I think Sony is aware that keeping Sam Raimi and the returning actors happy without a strong story will be tough. It’s hard to see what Gary Ross brings to the whole picture, though, other than a good professional relationship with Sony. I’d much rather see Vanderbilt’s script come to fruition. Spider-Man with a Zodiac tone? I’m down.
