WHO
Directed by: Marc Webb
Written by: Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and Jeff Pinkner
Starring:
Returning cast:
Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy
Sally Field as Aunt May
Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben (returning for flashbacks, etc...)
New Cast (I'm going to attach pictures here):
Jamie Foxx as Max Dillon/Electro (Electro has always been more comic relief, but Jamie Foxx is absolutely terrifying here. I'm excited to see how an actually menacing Electro plays out.)
Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn (James Franco was the perfect Harry. Sorry buddy. But I'll give you a fair shot.)
Paul Giamatti as Aleksei Sytsevich/The Rhino (Will serve as a secondary villain to Electro in this movie, but will survive into the third one, possibly becoming that film's major villain.)
Chris Cooper as Norman Osborn (confirmed not to play the Green Goblin in this installment)
Shailene Woodley as Mary Jane Watson (She will have a smaller amount of screen time than previously noted, but that's good, because anyone who knows anything about Spiderman knows she's a bitch.)
Brian Haley as Phil Watson (MJ's abusive father)
Marton Csokas as Dr. Kafka of the Ravencroft Institute (who is a woman in the comics)
Asim Ahmad as Michael Morbius (3 minute cameo role - he may return as the primary or secondary villain for the third movie as the Living Vampire)
AND.... A HAPPY SURPRISE FOR ALL OF US!
JK Simmons, who spectacularly played J. Jonah Jameson in the Sam Raimi Trilogy, has been asked to return and reprise his role. Marc Webb stated recently that they hunted for a new Jameson but realized that Simmons could not be replaced nor outdone. Simmons also separately stated he'd like to come back as well. So fingers crossed, looks like it's happening.
Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, and B.J. Novak (of The Office) also have unspecified roles.
WHAT
SPOILERS ALERT
So, info on the movie. As far as the plot goes, we don't have much. Peter goes on with school and meets Harry Osborn, who in this universe he knew in the past. In the comics, Harry was Peter's college roommate freshman year, but that's a minor change I don't think anyone cares about.
Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone are signed on through movie 3. You may be like "duh," but remember that Gwen Stacy does die. The Green Goblin tosses her off of the Brooklyn Bridge and Peter tries to save her with a web shot, but she's falling too fast and he tragically brakes her neck. Then, of course, comes the part that was displayed in the 2001 movie, where the Goblin sends his glider at Spiderman from behind but impales himself. Although I'm pretty sure I'll cry if I have to watch that happen to Emma Stone, but yes, it's probably going to happen.
Now since Emma is signed on to be in movie 3, we can assume that Norman will transform into the Green Goblin in that movie and kill Gwen at the end. But there will be a fourth movie as well, according to producer Matt Tolmach. In order to keep the love triangle aspect that permeates "Spider-Man" afloat, I'm betting 100% that the third movie will introduce Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat. No word on that yet though.
Let's see, other things... Oh! Morbius. If anyone's a real Spiderman geek like me, you know Michael Morbius and you desperately want him to be the villain of a movie. I mean, come on, Spiderman vs. a Vampire? Who in the world is not gonna go see that? He's in this movie as a nod to comic book fans and an introduction - now his storyline is very heavily intertwined with Felicia's, so maybe that's more proof we'll see her in movie 3?
Last thing, you all know about the dispute between Disney and Sony. Sony owns Spiderman, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four, while Disney owns the rest of Marvel (as far as cinema goes). This would mean that several key avengers, namely Spiderman, The Thing, and Wolverine, wouldn't appear in the Avengers movies. Wrong. There are a lot of rumors Sony has partnered with Disney and may be bringing Spiderman into the Avengers (and all my dreams would literally come true). If not for Avengers 2, then maybe 3, because Robert Downey Jr. returning for Avengers 3 is up in the air right now (he's still in for the 2nd film). If one of the four core Avengers (Iron Man, the Hulk, Captain America, and Thor) is gone, it'd be good to throw in a familiar face like Spiderman.
That's all I know so far, I'll keep this updated.
WHEN
Weirdly enough, we already have an actual date. May 2, 2014. Mark your calendars people. I will most definitely be at the midnight premiere.