As you may or may not have heard, from this past weekend:
—In July, the new Spider-Man movie has found its Peter Parker in Andrew Garfield (The Social Network, Never Let Me Go) and now it has reportedly found its Mary-Jane Watson, too. Emma Stone (Superbad, Zombieland, Easy A) will be officially offered the part soon.
The role of Gwen Stacy, Parker’s other notable love interest, is still up for grabs; as with Garfield and Stone, the producers and director Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) are looking for soon-to-be stars rather than established names. The reboot of the Spider-Man franchise begins production this December.
Since, more than any number of other notable comics franchises, Spider-Man is a tale featuring young characters, now that the ancient (35 years old!) Tobey Maguire has now been replaced, it stands to reason that the similarly rickety (28!) Kirsten Dunst be replaced as well. While Stone, the new Mary-Jane, has a few more years of youth remaining at 21, the clock is ticking on Garfield (who is only a year younger than the antiquated Dunst).
—The book Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, from author Seth Grahame-Smith (author of the similarly inspired Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), has been acquired by 20th Century Fox for a film adaptation, to be produced by the estimable Tim Burton, and directed by Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch, Wanted). The novel’s plot concerns president Lincoln’s bloody quest for vengeance against the slave-owning vampires who killed his mother. Burton and Bekmambetov intend to make the movie in 3D, so we have that to look forward to.
—And, last, some news that sadly hammers the final nail in the already-dead Joss Whedon big-screen adaptation of Wonder Woman, it was reported last Friday that TV producer David E. Kelley (Ally McBeal) is working on an episodic version of the beloved comic. While Whedon had abandoned the attempt to make his own movie some time ago, the fact of a television version of the tale surely obviates a Whedon Wonder Woman completely. Alas.
Danny Bowes is a playwright, filmmaker and blogger. He is also a contributor to nytheatre.com and Premiere.com.
