Avi Arad Says 'The Amazing Spider-Man' Fits In The Framework Of Sam Raimi's Films

One way to frame a question that comes to mind with new quotes from Avi Arad about The Amazing Spider-Man would be: is the film a total reboot or not? Quick answer: yes, it is a reboot. New actors, story that goes back to a younger version of the character, significantly different details about the character. That all adds up to reboot. So this is something that probably shouldn't even have to be a discussion, but because it's Friday, let's indulge. See what Mr. Arad has to say about the film, after the break.

The new issue of Entertainment Weekly (via ThinkMcFlyThink) has the following:

Exec producer Avi Arad says the film won't erase what came before but will try to weave a narrative that could take place within the framework of the earlier films. 'It's not a comeback,' he says. 'You have to look at it this way: Do you want to know more about Spider-Man? This movie is going to tell stories that you didn't see in movies 1, 2, and 3.

You can read that to mean that they're not directly remaking things that we've already seen on screen. I suppose there were some underlying ideas to explore that didn't get much time in the Sam Raimi trilogy, and so this movie arguably fills in some of those gaps.

Regardless, this is a minor watercooler conversation more than anything else. Don't take that quote too seriously until we get a chance to see just how closely this film hews to the continuity of the last three. In general, the statement only partially makes sense given what we've seen so far. We've seen very little, sure, but enough to know that the costume is completely different, and that the character has mechanical web-shooters instead of the organic ones in Sam Raimi's film. If this isn't a different version of the character I can't wait to see how this film is reconciled with the others. *Crosses fingers for a last-minute reveal that this entire film is an alternate storyline kicked into gear by the Beyonder.*