It’s rather unfortunate that the living legend James Cameron, who is known for bringing out the true potential of a script with his golden touch, had to pass on several promising projects over the years. Guess what those movies would have turned into, if only Cameron had the opportunity to direct them.
One of such lost projects of James Cameron surrounded Marvel’s Spider-Man. Apparently, long before Sam Raimi came up with his iconic Spider-Man trilogy featuring Tobey Maguire, Cameron wished to develop an adaptation starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Arnold Schwarzenegger. But, unfortunately, his movie never saw the light of day.
James Cameron Wanted Arnold Schwarzenegger As MCU Villain
Having tried his hands on different genres, James Cameron ended up with a longing desire to develop a Spider-Man adaptation in 1991. Long before Sam Raimi came up with Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man trilogy, the Titanic filmmaker pitched his unique take on the comics to Marvel Studios.
Possessing the entire plot in his mind, James Cameron even envisioned the actors whom he wanted in the lead roles. Thus, wishing to launch Leonardo DiCaprio as Spider-Man, Cameron pitched the idea to feature Arnold Schwarzenegger as the supervillain, Dr. Octopus.
Previously working with the action hero, Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator, Cameron almost introduced the 76-year-old to the world as an MCU villain. Pitting the actor up against Electro, Sandman, and Dr. Octopus, the filmmaker believed Schwarzenegger would be a perfect fit as Dr. Octopus.
James Cameron’s Spider-Man Adaptation Met An Unfortunate End
With a sorted plotline and a list of actors to feature, James Cameron was completely ready to begin his work on the Marvel adaptation of Spider-Man. However, his idea was never appreciated by the studios which ended up killing the vision before it could even make its way into production.
Despite believing Cameron’s unique take on the comics would’ve been interesting, Marvel Studios denied the filmmaker the opportunity to direct an MCU movie. Stripping him off his plan to feature Leonardo DiCaprio and Arnold Schwarzenegger as MCU stars, the Studios later offered a chance to Sam Raimi in 2002.
Thereafter, although James Cameron’s dark, edgy, mature, R-rated version of Spider-Man never saw the light of day, fans were offered three different versions of Spider-Man, over the years. Marvel Studios thus brought Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland to fill in the shoes of the web-slinger.
Watch the Spider-Man movies chronologically on Disney+.
Source: Screenrant
