The Amazing Spider-Man movie series directed by Marc Webb first started with The Amazing Spider-Man starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. From the very beginning, the reboot was met with criticism and jeers from fans. Previous Spider-Man movies were still fresh in fans' minds, and re-introducing the character after such a short time left a bad taste in the mouths of many.
While loved by some, eventually, the ship that was this series sank, leaving stranded many ideas for sequels, spin-offs, and toy opportunities (We're looking at you, Avi Arad). With all these rumors and sunken theories floating around, many fans of the series either shed a tear for what could've been or shuddered at the thought of what almost happened. Whatever side of this coin you're on, it's interesting to hear all the same. So here are four rumored things we would've loved and four we're happy aren't happening.
8 Mary Jane (Would've Loved)
As a way to contrast itself with the previous Sam Raimi directed Spider-Man film series that had just ended, Sony opted to go with another one of Peter's love interests for Mark Webb's new Amazing Spider-Man films, Gwen Stacy. Played by Emma Stone, she became loved among fans of the film. However, what many don't know is that Mary Jane was nevertheless set to make an appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
To be played by Shailene Woodley, this Mary Jane was in motion to be a much more comic-faithful version of the character opposed to the mix between Gwen and MJ we got in the Raimi films. Woodley had even filmed all her scenes within the movie but was cut from the film when they feared there were too many characters—as if that was the problem with the movie. She, however, did get a passing remark from Peter during one seen, confirming her existence in Peter's life at the time. Despite this, it was rumored that Woodley would return as Mary Jane for the third installment in the series, which never came to fruition. It's a shame, really. Woodley could've been a great addition to the cast, and we would've gotten a comic accurate Mary Jane on screen.
7 Clone Saga (Glad Isn't Happening)
The Clone Saga was, of course, the huge Spider-Man event of the 90s where that one obscure clone of Spider-Man that everyone thought died in the 70s was actually alive, and he was fixing to become Spider-Man. For a while, Ben Reilly, Peter's clone, took over the role of Spider-Man while Peter lived a life with Mary Jane. While a liked idea at first, many fans soon grew a distaste for the Saga for its needlessly complicated plot and for overstaying its welcome. As so, it shouldn't be any surprise that we weren't too thrilled to hear that The Amazing Spider-Man 3 was rumored to include the Clone Saga itself.
Coming off of the surprising—well, surprising for non-comic readers—death of Gwen Stacy, the Clone Saga could've spit in the face in one of the more redeemable moments of the widely panned Amazing Spider-Man 2. Clones of Gwen Stacy right after she died definitely would've rubbed audiences the wrong way. Not to mention how extremely complicated and weird it would be to see Peter's clone, Ben. Some things only work on paper, and then even barely. This is one of them.
6 J.K. Simmons As J. Jonah Jameson (Would've Loved)
It can be easily agreed upon among normal filmgoers and Raimi Fanatics alike that J.K. Simmons’ portrayal of the Daily Bugles Editor In Chief, J. Jonah Jameson is one of the best parts of the trilogy. Almost seeming as if he was born to play the role, many filmgoers were stoked when rumors that Simmons would once again wear the famous mustache.
Simmons, on multiple occasions, has stated and shown his appreciation for the character, often referring to it as one of his favorite roles. He even teased a few times that he would like to play Jameson once again, and it seemed like it was gonna happen. That was until The Amazing Spider-Man 3 was canceled in favor of Spider-Man appearing in the MCU. You know what they say, when one door closes, another opens.
5 Sinister Six Spin-Off (Glad Isn't Happening)
The Sinister Six are the much loved and very intimidating anti-Spider-Man supervillain group who have only one goal in mind, the defeat of the Masked Menace himself. Many Spider-Fans alike were excited to hear that Sony had plans to have them as an antagonist for the next Spider-Man film, complete with a teaser at the end of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 for the group. That was until they revealed what, exactly, they planned to do.
Sony was set to release a Sinister Six film, centering around the six members of the team, with very little input from Spider-Man in the midst of it all. This, very understandably, worried fans. While Spider-Man's rogues' gallery is very loved and arguably one of the best in comics, in no way did the group feel deserving of an entire film. It felt forced, cheap, and just another excuse to sell toys. Luckily this fell through along with the Amazing Spider-Man film franchise.
4 Black Cat (Would've Loved)
Felicia Hardy, the famous cat burglar who stole Spider-Man's heart... and promptly put it back, was and remains to be a fan favorite character among the Spider-Man mythos. Known for her bad luck powers and enchanting beauty, the silver-tongued Hardy was set to make an appearance in the 3rd installment of the Amazing Spider-Man series and even was rumored to be getting her own solo film.
Played by Felicity Jones in the Amazing Spider-Man 2, our Felicia had already made her big screen debut but didn't become fully realized due to the sacking of the series. It's kinda sad, really. We'll never get such a close name to film relation again. Felicity and Felicia. Spider-Man and Marc Webb. Shame.
3 Oz Formula Revival (Glad Isn't Happening)
As fans of the Ultimate line of Marvel Comics would know, the Oz Formula that gave Peter Parker and Norman Osborn their powers not only gave them enhanced human features, but also immortality. The serum had changed their biology in a way so that the two, when “killed,” would promptly resurrect, leading to the awaited meeting of Ultimate Peter Parker and Miles Morales.
While this works in a comics world, would it have worked on the big screen? Nope. However, this is what Sony was rumored to have in store for The Amazing Spider-Man 3. Which character would be resurrected, you may ask? Well, the only one that had literally just died, of course, Gwen Stacy. Seeing how this would bring any healing or development of character and hell, even story to a grinding halt, we are very glad that this was cut short, alongside the rest of the series.
2 Peter Parker's Road To Recovery (Would've Loved)
It's no surprise or secret that the death of Gwen Stacy deeply affected Peter Parker. We even got a full montage showing this in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Nevertheless, Peter climbed out of the hole he had set himself into and once again became his old self again... or did he? Rumors suggest that the ending of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was merely Peter “putting on a mask” to follow through with his responsibilities while he still dealt with the blow of Gwen's demise on the inside, and honestly, that sounds great.
For those who've had very hard and personal deaths happen within their families or friend circles know, the road to recovery is a hard one, and not one quickly let go. Seeing Peter Parker continue to deal with the death of his love would've been tremendous for character growth. Rather than a one minute montage, seeing Peter climb his way out of that hole, slowly, would've been a fantastic thing to see.
1 Carnage Gwen (Glad Isn't Happening)
Yet again, another rumor pertaining to the resurrection of Gwen Stacy using a method from the Ultimate Universe appears on this list, but trust us, this one's way worse. Remember when Ultimate Gwen Stacy of Earth-1610 was resurrected using as the Carnage Symbiote who had her memories and essentially became her? Yeah. That's what we had in store according to certain rumors.
Now, as stated before, bringing back Gwen Stacy is a bad move for the series, seeing as it would halt Peter's healing process and the direction of the movies, but this would do that and more. Imagine how weird it would be to see Carnage Emma Watson. In any other situation, that sounds pretty entertaining, but not in a canon movie move.