Spider-Man 2002 Director Sam Raimi Recalls Backlash Against Him From Fans
Sam Raimi reflects on fans' initial backlash to him being hired to direct Spider-Man. Raimi is about to kick off the summer movie season for 2022 with the release ofDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, his first film as a director in nine years. The first week of May not only is the release of his newest film but marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Spider-Man which opened in theaters on May 3, 2002.
When Spider-Man was released in theaters, it was coming at a time when the superhero movie was seeing a comeback following the release of Blade and X-Men. Spider-Man shattered box office records, becoming the highest-grossing opening weekend at the time and Raimi went from cult icon to one of Hollywood's most in-demand filmmakers. While the movie received positive reviews and is now considered a classic, prior to its release, the film received a fair amount of skepticism. In particular, the choice to give Spider-Man organic webbing as opposed to the mechanical web-shooters from the comics earned backlash. This choice originated in James Cameron's early Spider-Man pitch that Raimi decided to incorporate into his film.
Related: Why Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man Has Organic Web Shooters
In a 20th anniversary retrospective on Spider-Man held by Variety, Raimi openly discussed the early online discourse around the film's changes to Spider-Man. The director said he did not have a good experience with the fan community when he was fired hired. He recalls how they wanted him to be removed from the film particularly after they heard about the organic web-shooters. When asked if he was aware of the early online message boards upset about the change Raimi said:
«I was aware of it, and it wasn’t a good thing for me. I
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