Willem Dafoe Slams Spider-Man Reboots As ‘Cynical’


Though Sam Raimi got over his fear of The Amazing Spider-Man, the 2012 reboot of his own Spider-Man trilogy, enough to see it and actually kind of like it, one of the former franchise’s stars doesn’t feel the same way.

Willem Dafoe, who played Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in all three Raimi films, told TotalFilm that he’s disappointed in the rebooted franchise.

“I saw a trailer for the first Spider-Man reboot and I thought, ‘This is crazy! It’s not shot for shot, but it’s the same story,'” Dafoe said. “I thought, ‘This is sort of a cynical approach to making money!'”

He’s not alone in that sentiment, either. Though The Amazing Spider-Man was mostly well-received, many complaints bemoaned the fact that it was yet another origin story for the character of Peter Parker/Spider-Man. This was seen by some as redundant, especially given the character’s relative freshness in pop culture and film.

Dafoe isn’t the first Raimi Spider-Man series star to question the wisdom behind the rebooted franchise. James Franco, who played Dafoe’s on-screen son, Harry, has also criticized the reboot and planned franchise.

“I mean, they could have strayed a little bit more from the original,” Franco told MTV earlier this year. “It’s like, ‘Why?’ Well, I guess they made a lot of money. Congrats. Good for them. Sam and I moved on, we made Oz The Great And Powerful.”

But hey, at least the franchise’s former director came down in favor of the reboot.

“I loved it,” Raimi said back in March. “Of course the next Spider-Man story should be told, and [Marc Webb] did a wonderful job telling that. I loved the movie, and I’m looking forward like a fan to the next installment. I love the comic book, and now I don’t feel bound, and I’m really glad somebody’s remaking it again.”

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 comes out on May 2, 2014. You can check out the rest of Dafoe’s interview here.

[Image: Shutterstock]

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