Romita Spider-Man costume by Larry Malott |
The more I hear about Mark Webb’s upcoming Spider-Man revamp, I’m starting to get a major John Romita Sr. vibe.
For those unaware of Romita’s work on the character, he followed Amazing Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko on the title with issue #40 and with writer Stan Lee, broadened the supporting cast and introduced a soap opera element to the title.
So far we have Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey, Sally Field as May Parker, Martin Sheen as Ben Parker, Rhys Ifans as Curt Connors/The Lizard, Denis Leary as Gwen’s father police captain George Stacey and rumored Zooey Deschanel as Betty Brant.
Despite rumors of John Slattery or Sam Elliot as Parker’s boss, J. Jonah Jameson, it might make more sense to keep the inimitable and beloved J.K. Simmons.
Rumors also include the appearance of Peter’s parents (another Romita storyline). The other characters presumably will include Robbie Robertson, Flash Thompson, Harry Osborn, Liz Allan (another high school character, perhaps filling the void by the absence of the Mary Jane Watson character).
Spider-Man is directed by Marc Webb and written by James Vanderbilt. Filming starts in December and the film will be released in 3D on July 3, 2012.