Spider-Man, a superhero created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko for comic books published by Marvel Comics, has appeared in film since the 1970s. The character debuted in CBS's TV-movie pilot for the series The Amazing Spider-Man in 1977, the first of a trio of companion films including Spider-Man Strikes Back (1979) and Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge (1981). Marvel Comics pursued plans for a more ambitious feature film in the 1980s, in a tumultuous development involving multiple directors, writers, and financiers. After intense litigation over the Spider-Man copyrights, Sony Pictures and subsidiary Columbia obtained the film rights under a joint agreement with Marvel in 1999.
Columbia developed a Spider-Man film trilogy directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire in the 2000s, followed by a reboot duology featuring Marc Webb as director and Andrew Garfield as the titular character. Marvel Studios produced another Spider-Man film series under a licensing agreement with Sony, incorporating the character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Three MCU films starring Tom Holland as Spider-Man were released between the 2010s and the 2020s: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), with a fourth MCU entry, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, scheduled for release in 2026. Holland has also appeared in crossover films within the MCU. Additionally, the character has appeared in the animated series of Spider-Verse films, and is tied to a Sony-produced franchise with a loosely-shared continuity to the MCU.
Columbia began developing Spider-Man after their rights acquisition in 1999.[18] They appointed Sam Raimi as director in January 2000,[25] from of a raft of candidates due to his enthusiasm for the source material.[26] Screenwriter David Koepp was hired to write the Spider-Man script, expanding on ideas introduced in Cameron's treatment.[16] The script was revised under Scott Rosenberg and again by Alvin Sargent to improve dialogue.[27][28] Columbia signed Tobey Maguire to a three-picture, $3–4 million pay-or-play contract as Peter Parker in July 2000, with greater compensation for subsequent films.[29][30] Maguire was Rami's preferred choice based on his performance in The Cider House Rules (1999).[31] Leonardo DiCaprio, Freddie Prinze Jr., Heath Ledger, Scott Speedman, and Wes Bentley were among the actors Columbia considered to star.[32][33] Spider-Man explores Peter's struggles to adapt to his newfound superpowers, which he acquires from the bite of a genetically engineered spider. After the death of his uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson), Peter vows to contain crime in New York, climaxing in a confrontation with the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe). Spider-Man was shot from January to June 2001,[27] and released in May 2002 after Sony extended the post-production schedule.[34] It was the third highest-grossing film of 2002, grossing over $825 million globally.[35] At the 75th Academy Awards, Spider-Man was nominated for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound.[36] Content repurposed from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
