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armageddon-generation · 2 years

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What The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Could Have Been

(All the deleted scenes, cut concepts and studio notes that could've saved this movie)

(Sequel to this post on TASM deleted scenes)

COMPILED FROM:

deleted scene compilation

Comparison to a rough cut

An analysis of an earlier draft, from the International Business Times

Badass Digest’s look at the earlier script

Kevin Feige’s notes on the movie for Sony

BTS footage of Mary Jane scenes

OPENING

“There are too many story lines and we need to choose which ones we are focusing on and lift out the other ones, ie; could reduce father arc to just Roosevelt?

"Could cut out plane crash and Richard destroying spiders”

Young Peter and Harry play chess at the Parkers’ Wake, mentioned in the director’s commentary:

“Peter was this lonely child in this room of adults, and he snuck off to his Dad’s study, and in walked Harry … They started playing chess, it was kind of a metaphor and I can’t remember the exact dialogue, but it was this lovely moment of these boys connecting and finding each-other. [Before this] Their relationship had been all about going to their fathers’ labs … They turn and there’s this silhouetted man in the beginning of his degenerative disease holding onto his cane.”

Starting the movie in Richard Parker’s study (just like hide and seek in TASM) creates a thematic through-line with the first film

Much stronger setup of Harry and Peter’s friendship

Better setup of the disease and Norman’s shadow over Harry and Peter

Ties into Fiege’s recommendation:

“If you cut Richard from the opening and the plane crash maybe you could instead do Harry coming home and seeing Norman at the top of the movie as a cold open.”

TRUCK CHASE

MJ is waitressing at a café during the opening truck chase

“Don’t start with Spider-Man….let the danger/stakes to NYC build first and then have Spider-Man enter the scene heroically.”

“Tone down Paul Giamatti performance, so he seems a bit more menacing and less cartoonish.”

“There could be a better way to reveal that Peter is missing graduation – maybe when you cut Gwen you cut to the wide shot?”

“Tiny note – don’t think Peter would lie to Gwen about sirens --- maybe he just downplays it…”

“Stan Lee Cameo – maybe need a little more emphasis on Peter here trying to get out of his costume and not be in seen…set up a little more the pressure of the principal getting closer and closer to calling his name.”

“Instead of seeing the ghost of Captain Stacy, can just here the voice in Peter’s head and maybe flash back to the last movie? Don’t think we should add Cap Stacy back into car chase.”

Flash at Graduation

Just a cute little character moment, and more continuity from TASM. Webb does these so well

“There is too much back and forth with Peter and Gwen – can we recut the Dim Sum scene so that it doesn’t feel so repetitive of their break-up in the last movie – Can Peter be more honorable and definitive and less wishy-washy?”

TIME JUMP

“There’s an entire year gap between the high school graduation and most of the rest of the film. This year gap makes Peter’s forlorn attitude towards Gwen cute instead of creepy, and it establishes that they’re college students. Gwen’s application to Oxford make more sense – in the finished film it’s like she decided to go to college at the last minute.”

Max’s Mother

Max is looking after his bed-bound mother, who is emotionally abusive - she doesn’t remember or care about her own son’s birthday

Stronger setup of Max’s isolation, more personal than just his rejection by Spider-Man

His freakout here plays better than the one at Oscorp for ‘disrespecting’ Spider-Man

Links to an important deleted scene later on

Gwen and Max in the elevator

“It must be pretty cool, to have the whole world see you like that. I wish I was like him.”

J Jonah Jameson

Peter, now a student at Empire State University, brings his first Spider-Man pictures to JJJ, who gives him a tour of the Daily Bugle offices in Times Square.

We meet Robbie Robertson and JJJ complains that the internet is killing print media

Electro in the Subway / wandering New York

Electro returns home

He finds his supposedly bedridden mother walking, and cashing in on his death

Much stronger, personal reason for Max’s psychotic break as he heads to Times Square

Extended Times Square Battle

“Spidey and Electro’s first fight send them crashing through the Daily Bugle offices and the printing presses-”

JJJ gets his scoop

This could’ve fed into the city treating Max like a freak

Peter Meets MJ while working on his Electro-proof webbing

MJ and her drunkard father have just moved in next door. She builds motorcycles as a hobby and has a spider tattoo on her wrist; she’s a Spidey fan and has a crush on Peter

Peter and Gwen angst in their rooms after Times Square

Harry tells Peter Oscorp is watching him

Cool introduction of the Goblin suit, and we establish the power plant for the finale

More Felicia. Another moment showing Harry’s disease

“He spent more time watching you than me.”

The boys are united in their quest for answers about their dads

“Surveillance scene should be about following Harry not Peter…no one should be following Peter.”

“Harry story feels like the main plot of the movie – Peter should look into the past b/c of Harry – maybe find some photos of them together as kids…use obsession wall more to set up this part of his past not just what happened to parents.”

Feige seems to want the order to go:

Gwen and Peter angst in their rooms

Surveillance scene (focusing on Harry)

Obsession Wall (focusing on Harry)

Spidey vs Copycat

Just a cute Friendly Neighbourhood scene, this movie did them so well

Spidey Confronts MJ's Father

Something we never got from the Raimi version, fitting for this version of Peter. Another cool Neighbourhood moment

DR RATHA

“[In TASM] Dr. Ratha seems to have been killed in deleted scenes, but the actual movie leaves him alive … He shows up in the script for TASM2, filling the same role as Donald Menken... the Oscorp stooge who engineers Harry’s dismissal from the company.

Nice continuity [from TASM]. All of the basic elements of Ratha’s role are in the finished movie, there’s just a different name attached.”

ALTERNATE GOBLIN SUIT BACKSTORY

“In the original script the Goblin suit isn’t for military use but was specifically built in secret to heal/help Norman Osborn [After] Richard Parker wouldn’t give his blood to Osborn (the Parker DNA still being the key to it all). The suit went into Norman’s boathouse where Harry finds it.”

Harry finding the Boathouse parallels Peter finding Roosevelt

Norman making the Goblin suit emphasizes how Harry is being manipulated by his father from beyond the grave

“Don’t like the idea that May tells Peter his parents were spies b/c two seconds later he finds out they are not.”

Gwen is accepted into Oxford

This is such a brief moment, why didn’t we actually see it?

Gwen Writes a Letter to Peter

Replacing the voicemail she leaves him in the Theatrical cut

After escaping Ravencroft, Max meets Harry at his father’s grave

Max considers killing Harry as revenge for his accident

They consolidate their partnership. Doing this at Norman’s grave foregrounds his influence on Harry

Spreading Max and Harry’s union across two scenes is just better pacing, considering they’ve never met before Max’s escape

Gwen visits Aunt May as she’s leaving for Oxford

Gwen meets MJ:

MJ asks how she can find someone like Peter, all the guys she attracts are “dickheads”. Gwen replies “date a nerd”

Aunt May encourages Peter to go after Gwen

MAY: Peter, what is the matter with you? You love this girl with all your heart and soul. Does she know that? Have you told her?

PETER: No.

MAY: Then give her that. The rest of it’s up to her. And you don’t have forever, none of us ever do.

Great character beat alluding to the loss of Ben, foreshadowing Gwen’s death, and setting up “I love you” on the bridge

Another mirror to TASM, where May encourages Peter to pursue his relationship with Gwen (“If there’s one thing you are, Peter Parker, it’s good.”)

Extended birth of the Goblin/ Harry attacks Oscorp

Love the body-horror here

Pumpkin bomb!

Menken's [or Ratha’s] death. Plus it just gives Harry more to do

Alternate final Electro battle

Spidey cocoons Max in his new webbing.

Instead of blowing up, Max is drained and ends up in the river- I prefer Spider-Man not outright murdering his villains

“Spider-Man needs to feel more directly responsible for preventing the planes from crashing.”

“Don’t show New Yorkers looting.”

Peter nearly kills Harry

Harry is still conscious and laughing after Gwen’s death. Peter beats him and nearly impales him with his own Glider

we hear Uncle Ben's words from the first film. He doesn't kill him and tells Harry the serum did it to him.

“Need to underscore capture of goblin…more sirens as you linger on the clock 1;21, 1:22 am (nice touch)”

Peter asks for forgiveness at Captain Stacy’s grave

Much better expression of Peter’s guilt than the ghost

“Like the idea that May finds out he’s Spider-Man – finds his costume instead of just the rosemary harris wink-wink all the time.”

“Maybe intercut the ending montage and hearing Gwen’s speech with someone going into special projects and revealing more easter eggs and see that the rhino case has been broke into and the suit is missing…great way to transition to rhino ending.”

Other stuff that isn’t better:

Peter gives Harry his blood

Although this makes Peter a better friend, it also makes him directly responsible for the creation of the Goblin

Extended Goblin Fight

Harry keeps chasing Peter as Gwen falls and breaks her neck with his own hands

Gwen’s last words encouraging Peter

I prefer her instantaneous death, also Peter quitting for months immediately after she says this makes him a huge dick

Richard Parker approaches Peter in the graveyard:

I’m torn on this one. On one hand it finally gives closure to the ‘Untold Story’ subplot Webb allegedly originally envisioned finishing in Film 1

“With great power comes great responsibility”

Andrew acts the shit out of this scene

However you’d need to keep the opening plane crash to properly pay this off and the Parker Blood Destiny gimmick is bad

Post-credit scene: Norman’s Head

An extension of the 'Special Projects' Easter-Egg vault, Michael Massee's Gustav Fiers visits Oscorp Vault #3. There we see Norman Osborn's disembodied, frozen head. Fiers ends the scene with "wake up, old friend"

Norman actor Chris Cooper said:

“We shot the scene -- it's so weird -- but it didn't make it into 'Spider-Man 2.' I’m sure it would probably have been one of the opening scenes in 'Spider-Man 3' if they had gone ahead. But he was coming back. It's very bizarre, what they came up with.”

TLDR; We could've got a more cohesive, character-focused film driven by Peter's relationship with Harry. A better-developed Electro, more continuity from TASM to stop the film feeling like a reboot, expansion on Harry's illness and Norman's manipulation. MJ could've been our representation of Spider-Man's 'Friendly Neighbourhood' impact, and the worst of the Super Spy Parents would be gone.

It's just a massive, massive shame, man.

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