The Spiderman franchise is about to have another film added to the growing brood, and Sam Raimi is being rather tight lipped about who the villain for this film might be. Nobody seems to know for sure, but there have been rumors; the Green Goblin, the Lizard, the HobGoblin, and even the Chameleon. While all of these villains are potentially good choices, it really depends upon how they are used. The truth is, the franchise needs to go darker, just as The Dark Knight did for the Batman franchise. How can they do it? Bring in the Carnage.
Carnage is a serial killer version of Venom. There was a piece of symbiote left behind in the lab, and kit would easily fall into place to bring Carnage to the big screen. Carnage would truly bring the Spiderman franchise to a new crowd. He is no comic book character. Imagine a being with the powers of venom (plus some) and the brain and instincts of a serial killer. That is Carnage. He would kill anyone and everyone that he came across, and was very dark in the original comics. This left Peter Parker with a serious dilemna. Does he keep trying to do the right thing, or does he go after and kill this horrible thing?
The storyline in the comics could certainly be amped up a great deal to include much more of the psychological drama that is there to be explored. Spiderman could go to the darker parts of his personality and show a human side. His inner struggle is the one thing that is not really coming through in the previous movies. His relationships with all the other characters in the movie would really be challenged.
With this addition of Carnage to the storyline, it would make the movie feel more real to the viewer, and a little less comic like. The Dark Knight brought on the Joker and the madness in a whole new way, and the effect it had on Batman and those around him made the movie. This could do the same for Spiderman in the fourth installment of the series.
So far, we know that Kirsten Dunst and Maguire will return for Spiderman 4, but not much else. It is rumored that Uncle Ben’s killer is set to return as well, even though he was supposed to have died. How that would tie into the Carnage story line idea is unknown, but it could still work. Regardless of who the villain ends up being, Spiderman 4 needs to take on a more serious tone to bring in a new group of viewers. It will be interesting to see where Raimi takes us with this one.
God, no. Carnage is a two dimensional Joker ripoff.
Why the hell should Spider-Man go darker? The franchise has never been very dark, and ripping off “The Dark Knight” won’t help. I say just go back to the semi-light-but-still-dangerous world of Spider-Man, just like the first three movies.
Comment by Adab — July 6, 2009 @ 1:05 pm