Here's why an extended cut of The Amazing Spider-Man. Andrew Garfield was cast as the new Peter Parker/Spider-Man while Marc Webb was hired to direct. There's plenty to like about The Amazing Spider-Man, including Garfield's performance, Peter's romance with Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy and some fun setpieces, but the unfocused story and underwhelming central villain let it down.
According to Garfield, the original screenplay for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 very much put the focus on the Peter/Gwen relationship, in addition to more character development for Jamie Foxx's Electro and Dane DeHaan's Green Goblin. Their turn to the dark side was more gradual, but as development on the sequel progressed, Sony pushed to include more characters like Rhino and create more openings for sequels and spin-offs. This resulted in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 suffering from odd pacing and tonal issues, with characters making key decisions will little setup.
The Amazing Spider-Man was a disappointment both in of reviews and commercial performance. The future of the series was soon in doubt, with a planned third movie and a Sinister Six spin-off put on hold. As fans of the MCU will know, Sony reached a deal with Marvel to bring Spider-Man over to their shared universe, with Tom Holland replacing Garfield. Garfield, Holland and Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man, which to many, helped redeem the more maligned elements of Garfield's run. Despite a healthy runtime, much was cut from The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but here's why an extended cut may help its reputation.
How An Amazing Spider-Man 2 Extended Cut Could Work
As previously mentioned, tonal issues were a big problem with The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Before Max turns into Electro, Foxx's hammy turn is a bad reminder of the goofy Joel Schumacher era of Batman, and it feels out of place in a movie that features scenes like Peter mourning Gwen's death. An extended cut could help even out the tone and pacing of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, cutting down on the sillier elements and restoring character beats like the reborn Max learning his mother got paid by Oscorp to keep quiet about his "death." This Amazing Spider-Man 2 - where Garfield conceived of the "romantic" Frogger scene - extended version could also add back Green Goblin scenes, including Harry's body horror transformation - such as his teeth shattering - his attack on the Oscorp building and the extended Spider-Man vs Goblin ending.
This included a more brutal version of their battle, with Spider-Man almost killing Harry in revenge for Gwen's death. While it may go against the extended cut label, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 could make room for these additional scenes by trimming some moments, including the setup for future villains or the needlessly overblown opening action sequence featuring Peter's parents on the plane. Speaking of which, restoring the moving final scene between Peter and Richard Parker (Campbell Scott) would help give the sequel a more conclusive ending.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 would always suffer from inherent flaws - like its terrible version of Rhino - but it still feels like there's a better, cleaner way for its story to be told. A more consistent tone and focus on character would help some of its issues. However, Sony has shown little to no interest in such a cut, so while an extended version of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 could work, it's currently unlikely to happen.
