Original Script shows Amazing Spider-Man 2 could have been very different

Have you ever watched a movie and then spent quite a while thinking to yourself ‘what if they’d have done that’ or ‘what if they took that out’ or ‘maybe they should have done that differently.’ I’d suggest that Amazing Spider-Man 2 is perfect for one of these kind of introspective film dissections, don’t get me wrong I really enjoyed it, but there’s definitely scope for suggesting how you might have done things differently.

Well that’s exactly what seems to have happened to the Amazing Spider-Man 2 script as what we saw in cinemas seems to drastically vary from what people saw in test-screenings and what people have read in various scripts for the film that appear to be at different stages. We even know that some of the scenes that were in the trailers didn’t make it into the final film. In fact it’s pretty much impossible to keep up with what was once in the film, and what the film might’ve been.

But, if you keep in mind the changes you would make, and your thoughts on the final film, how close does Badass Digest’s reported original Amazing Spider-Man 2 script get to improving or downgrading the film? Do you prefer the scripted version that Badass Digest are saying almost happened, or do you think that the final version of the film we all saw in cinemas got most things right?

Well, let’s take a look at the changes!

Mary Jane Watson

This major change from the original script to the film shouldn’t be news to anyone, we all know that Shailene Woodley’s Mary Jane Watson was supposed to be in the film, and at the time it was a fairly big deal. Her casting as the iconic Spider-Man love interest made front page news and almost everyone was excited to see Shailene Woodley bringing Mary Jane back to the big screen.

Whilst its entirely up in the air whether or not Shailene will be returning for Amazing Spider-Man 3, whether or not Shailene would return at all and whether or not Mary Jane will be in the film at all, we did at least know what one of the deleted scenes involving Mary Jane was supposed to be thanks to concept artist Gregory Hill spilling the beans about a scene where Peter Parker confronts MJ’s abusive dad as Spider-Man

Badass Digest’s original script reportedly mentions this as well as other things, so let’s take a look at what they have to say!

"The original script includes all of the MJ scenes, and she’s introduced as the Parker’s new next door neighbor. Her dad is an abusive drunk and she’s a waitress who builds motorcycles in her spare time. She has a Spider-Man tattoo on her wrist, and she’s clearly interested in Peter, who is totally hung up on Gwen. At one point Spider-Man confronts MJ’s dad, telling him to lay off the girl. At the end of the script Gwen comes to Peter’s house before heading to London; he’s gone but she meets the new neighbor. They have a friendly exchange and MJ says that she always attracts [bad guys] and asks Gwen what her advice is to get a guy like Peter. “Date a nerd,” Gwen says before heading off to die, basically giving MJ the okay to get with Peter."

Until now details on Gwen and MJ’s interaction had been scarce, I personally find it incredibly interesting to see that Gwen’s character does essentially give MJ the go-ahead to start a relationship with Peter. I like the subtle touch of Gwen herself being responsible for that love interest, it kind of makes sense given Gwen’s characterisation in the film and helps to justify the relationship!

J. Jonah Jameson

J. Jonah Jameson has perhaps had slightly less hype than Mary Jane Watson, but his absence from the Amazing Spider-Man cinematic universe has not gone unnoticed. Jameson is arguably as important to Spider-Man as Mary Jane is and the fact that he is one of Spidey’s biggest supporting characters yet hasn’t been seen is somewhat of a talking point.

However it did look like Amazing Spider-Man 2 was preparing us for JJJ’s appearance in a future Spider-Man film as it did lay the groundwork with some subtle Easter eggs. Peter Parker mentioned Jameson early on in the film stating that the pay JJJ gives him is pretty bad. We then see an email from J. Jonah Jameson later on that brilliantly summed up his character with just text. The character also appeared on the Daily Bugle viral website, which lead me to think he might’ve been in Amazing Spider-Man 2 in person

However it turns out that I wasn’t that wrong as J. Jonah Jameson was supposed to be in the Amazing Spider-Man 2 film, or at least he was in the original script. The Badass Digest reports

"“JJJ’s in the original script, as is Robbie Robertson. We see Peter, who is a student at Empire State University, bring his first Spider-Man pictures to JJJ, who gives him a tour of the Daily Bugle. JJJ complains that the internet is killing the newspaper business; later, Spidey and Electro’s first fight send them crashing through the Daily Bugle offices and the printing presses. “"

So it looks like JJJ’s big cinematic reboot debut will have to wait until later. Although it might not be that long as Marc Webb even hinted during a Google+ Hangout chat with some lucky Spider-Fans (Sevenwebheads was one of them) that we could see J. Jonah Jameson in Amazing Spider-Man 3, whenever that will be!

Spider-Kid

Spider-Kid, or the young boy in Amazing Spider-Man 2 who Peter Parker saved from bullies, and who we then see bravely confronting the Rhino at the end of the film was Andrew Garfield’s idea. We know that because he told comicbookresources that it was his idea with the following quote, however it seems Garfield had the idea after the original script was written.

"“It’s so funny that you mention that, and I’m excited you felt that way. The boy, the bullied boy, was not a character in the original script. He was actually a thought that I had about wanting to see me as a seven-year-old in the movie. I mentioned it to Marc and the writers. I suggested that we see the exact thing that I needed when I was a seven-year-old, to have it happen to a seven-year-old: Spider-Man showing up to give him the strength to find his own inner-strength, even though he’s this incredibly skinny seven-year-old. I’m really proud of that.”"

And what do you know, the Badass Digest has also reported that the young boy galavanting around as Spider-Man wasn’t part of the original script either.

"One of the best sequences in the movie has Spidey helping a nerdy little kid who is getting picked on by bullies. That kid shows up at the end, in a Spider-Man costume, to confront the rampaging Rhino. That kid isn’t in this script!"

I wouldn’t go as far as to call it one of the best sequences in the film, but it did provide a nice amount of heart and warmth outside of Gwen and Peter’s relationship that helped tell the story of why Spider-Man does what he does.

Rhino

The start of Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a high-octane, multiple police car pile-up, Russian thug-filled, plutonium rescuing car chase that ends with Spider-Man coming face to face with the man who would eventually become the super-villain Rhino, Aleksei Sytsevich. However it wasn’t so much a thrilling confrontation and more total humiliation for the Russian gangster who gets his trousers pulled down by Spidey, revealing rather telling Rhino emblazoned boxer-shorts.

We then see Rhino return at the end of the film in a fully armoured and dangerous Rhino suit that has obviously come from Oscorp, Paul Giamatti completely hams in up as the Russian mobster and Spider-Man returns just in time to save the aforementioned Spider-Kid and the other citizens of New York from the rampaging robotic rhino-suit wearing Russian! Alliteration!

Now, whilst the Rhino book-ending the film was a pretty decent idea, he definitely wasn’t in the film enough to really be called a contributing factor to anything, he was just sort of there. Although according to the Badass Digest he was originally supposed to be in the film a hell of a lot less as the opening sequence was originally just a car-chase that didn’t involve him at all.

"And the Rhino barely is either; he’s just a cameo at the end, with no connection to the truck heist at the beginning of the film."

So, we got more Rhino than we should have, I’m not entirely sure if it’s good or bad. Besides it looks like he’s coming back anyway as Rhino will almost certainly be a member of the Sinister Six.

Green Goblin

Dane DeHaan’s Harry Osborn/Green Goblin is another contestable point in the film, there’s no denying he certainly had an impact but he did seemingly come from nowhere. Although I’d argue that everything that happens in the film is designed and supposed to lead to the moment Harry Osborn becomes the Green Goblin and subsequently kills Gwen Stacy.

In the film we see Harry breaking into his own company to get a vial of Spider-Venom to try and save him from his hereditrary family desease. This is after Peter Parker refuses to give Harry Spider-Man’s blood because the consequences could have been (and totally were) catastrophic. However at the time I did think to myself that Peter was being a bad friend and that’s apparently what the filmmakers thought at one point before changing their mind as well.

"In the original script Peter actually gives his blood to Harry Osborn. This is a huge improvement over the finished film, where Harry just injects himself with spider venom"

The Badass Digest goes on to explain that the original script better explains the Goblin suit and Glider as well, which has caused me to try and remember if the actual film bothered to explain it at all. I don’t think it did.

"In the original script the Goblin suit is better explained – it isn’t for military use but was specifically built in secret for Norman Osborn. When Richard Parker wouldn’t give his blood to Osborn (the Parker DNA still being the key to it all), the suit went into Norman’s boathouse where Harry finds it."

On this one I prefer both of the original script plot-points for Harry. I think Peter giving Harry his blood is something that Peter would do, and then he’d deal with the consequences after. Peter’s excuse that Harry could die if he does give his blood just didn’t sit right given that Harry was dying anyway.

Ravenscroft

One of the more bizarre changes the film made from the original comic-book material was to make Dr. Kafka a male rather than a female. This was a bizarre change because they didn’t just gender-swap the character, they also made Kafka a villainous, eccentric, German, mad-scientist type character which was completely bonkers. In fact I even surmised that he was being set-up as a future Doctor Octopus.

According to the Badass Digest it turns out that Kafka was definitely female to begin with

"In the finished film Dr. Kafka, the scientist torturing Electro at the Ravenscroft Institute, is a man. This is a genderswap, as Dr. Kafka is a woman in the comics – and in the original script. She is absolutely specified as a female character; why Webb chose to change this detail is beyond me."

And whilst we’re on the subject of Ravenscroft there was another quite dramatic change from the original script to the final film involving Electro’s escape. In the film Harry Osborn breaks into Ravenscroft and convinces Electro to break out and help him take down Spider-Man. In the original script Electro breaks out on his own and then seeks out Harry to kill him (obviously blaming Harry Osborn for the accident). Also, Electro’s mother was supposed to be in the film.

"Also, Electro breaks himself out of Ravenscroft, and he approaches Harry Osborn at Norman’s grave in an attempt to kill him. When he sees that Harry is now The Goblin the two team up."

Again I can’t justify why either of these changes were made. In the final film Electro breaks out of Ravenscroft pretty much single-handedly anyway, so it didn’t really make any sense that he’d just wait for Harry to turn up before doing so. I also like the idea of Electro seeking revenge against Harry before joining him, it just works better in my opinion.

Dr. Ratha

We first met Dr Ratha in Amazing Spider-Man as the nefarious and sinister Oscorp employee who was up to no good. He ended up on the wrong side of the Lizard after forcing Doctor Connors to fast-track his lizard serum for human testing. Some debate remained about Dr Ratha’s fate but it definitely turns out that he was decapitated in a deleted scene.

The fact that his character was pretty much headless didn’t stop certain news institutions from reporting that Irrfan Khan would be returning to play a villain in Amazing Spider-Man 3. Naturally I laughed at this, scoffed even, Irrfan Khan’s Dr Ratha was killed. Sure it was in a deleted scene that was ultimately cut from the movie, which means that it doesn’t strictly fall into official canon, so maybe he didn’t die, but honestly the thought of him as a villain in Amazing Spider-Man 3 is laughable.

Except it isn’t that laughable because the original Amazing Spider-Man 2 script called for Dr. Ratha to return and be the nefarious and sinister Oscorp employee who is up to no good.

"“In The Amazing Spider-Man the character of Dr. Ratha seems to have been killed in deleted scenes, but the actual movie leaves him alive at the end. He shows up in the script for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, filling the same role as Donald Menken, the Colm Feore character. Basically having Ratha appear as the Oscorp stooge who engineers Harry’s dismissal from the company lends a nice continuity to the film, which in many ways feels like a reboot of the reboot in the first place. All of the basic elements of Ratha’s role are in the finished movie, there’s just a different name attached to the character.”"

I have to say that whilst Ratha would have been good continuity, I really liked Colm Feore’s Donald Menken, and thought that he was arguably the best villain in the film (which is saying something) Besides there’s always the possibility that Menken will turn out to be the Vulture, and that’s exciting

Time between Graduation and the rest of the film

Timeline wise the events of Gwen and Peter’s graduation and the rest of the film don’t seem to make that much sense. Peter breaks up with Gwen because of her father’s promise and then ends up stalking her as Spider-Man almost immediately afterwards. However Badass Digest report that in the original script a little bit of time happened.

"In the original script there’s an entire year gap between the high school graduation and most of the rest of the film. This year gap makes Peter’s forlorn attitude towards Gwen cute instead of creepy, and it establishes that they’re college students. This makes Gwen’s application to Oxford make more sense – in the finished film it’s like she decided to go to college at the last minute."

Gwen Stacy’s death

Gwen Stacy’s death made Amazing Spider-Man 2, it was the biggest most redeeming moment of the film and was as dramatic and shocking as it should have been, even with me knowing that it was coming throughout the whole film it was still brilliant. I also liked how perfect it was in recreating the tragic moment from the comic-book. Although it could have been slightly different.

"“It plays out mostly the same in the original script… but Gwen, back broken, hangs on to life long enough to demand that Peter never give up. Because this is the same character who promptly broke his promise to Captain Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man, Peter quits being Spider-Man in the next scene.”"

This is a decision I completely agree with, having Gwen squeeze out a dying breath-promise just like her father would have been completely cliched and taken away from the dramatic impact of her sudden yet inevitable death.

The return of Richard Parker

The ending of the film was pretty strong as well, Peter’s depressed stupour is ended by a pretty great speech by Gwen Stacy which is given a whole new meaning that sheds new light on Peter Parker’s current circumstances. He then rushes to save the day by battling the Rhino and having a cute moment with Spider-Kid to end the film. So thank your lucky stars that it didn’t end like it could’ve actually ended in the original script

"“The finished film has a terrible bit at the end where Peter quits Spider-Man for a bunch of months, and this time passes by in a montage. The same thing happens here! But instead of finding a tape of Gwen’s super on-the-nose graduation speech, Peter is approached by… his dad! Yes, Richard Parker shows back up at the end of the script, and he tells Peter he’s been watching him for years. He’s seen him become Spider-Man and everything. It’s Richard who convinces Peter to become Spider-Man again, and in his last scene in the movie he tells Pete “With great power comes great responsibility,” FINALLY working the famous phrase into this new series.”"

Thank god that didn’t happen.

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