The New Spiderman

Hi everyone! Just thought I'd share this exciting first image from the the new Spiderman movie set to swing its way into theaters in the summer of 2012! I know what your thinking, WTF! This isn't Toby Maguire! Well, it seems the director of the Maguire/Dunst trilogy, Sam Raimi, was very much intending to make a 4th installment that was supposed to come out sometime in 2011 and feature Vulture and Black Cat as the main villains but after just about every screen writer in Hollywood tried and failed to hash out a half decent spidey story that resuscitated the franchise after the colossal disappointment of 2007's "Spiderman 3," the studio petitioned to give the series a clean slate and start over with a new director, new actors, and new direction. In one word. REBOOT!
It is difficult to formulate a solid opinion based on one image but I can tell you already that I'm liking what I'm seeing here. I'm sure purists will balk about the liberties taken with Spidey's classic red & blue threads but I think that they definitely look more practical and something that a teenager with next to no tailoring skills could maybe come up with on his own. (granted, that's a big maybe!)
Speaking of teenagers, the actor cast to play Peter Parker and his arachnid alter ego is Andrew Garfield and he is definitely not one but rather in his late twenties which is kind of weird seeing as how a big reason for the studio's wanting to give the series a fresh start was the desire to focus on a younger, teenage Peter Parker who is dealing with the typical insecurities of being a kid in high school while at the same time having to cope with the awesome responsibility bestowed on him by his new, extraordinary abilities.
Oddly enough I saw this guy in something days before he landed the role and without even know his name was in the mix. The movie was called "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" and, on a side not, was also the last film Heath Ledger acted in before the tragic event of his death. I have to say, this kid Garfield gave a pretty impressive performance in that movie, and definitely managed to hold his own against the more seasoned Ledger.
In my opinion this guy definitely looks more like Peter Parker to me than Maguire ever did. In the original Stan Lee/Steve Ditko comics Peter was always depicted as having a more tall, slender, awkward build to him. Maybe it is due to my own personal bias as a tall, slender, awkward guy but that is how I believe old Petey boy should look in a film adaptation, and the diminutive Maguire certainly never fit that bill.
Now that we have been treated to this little appetite wetter I am very curious as to who the villain, or villains will be? Kraven? Rhino? Looks like he's got a nasty scratch there on his cheek, could that be a little souvenir from a run in with The Lizard? Or Black Cat? Personally I would love to see Spidey's arch foe, The Green Goblin, wrecking all sorts of havoc on the webslinger's already tumultuous existence so long as he trades in that goofy Power Ranger getup Willem Defoe had the misfortune of wearing in the first film in favor of the fundamentally disturbing latex mask and purple jerkin he sports in the comics but I'm guessing they will probably save him for the sequel similar to the approach they took with The Joker in the current Batman franchise. As long as they steer clear of any of the symbiote crap, or Peter decked out in his huggers and Jared Leto eyeliner doing on his best John Travolta strut (shudder!) they ought to be Okay. Here's hoping.

Ross