Sam Raimi's 'Spider-Man 2' Was Almost Waaay Darker

Before the franchise devolved into stories about evil alien symbiotes that force their hosts to buy black American Apparel hoodies and jazz dances ...

... Sam Raimi's Spider-Man series gave us one of the greatest superhero movies of all-time. Spider-Man 2 was penned by a slew of screenwriters (including Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Chabon). Still, weirdly none of the credited names belonged to legendary screenwriter David Koepp who wrote the first movie. Well, it turns out that Koepp did write a follow-up, though it was ultimately scrapped.

Now comes good news for film fans and hoarders of PDF files, Koepp has made almost all of his scripts available through his website, including early drafts and unproduced projects, such as his version of Spider-Man 2 titled Amazing Spider-Man. And it's pretty damn different. For one thing, Peter Parker learns that his parents weren't killed in a random plane crash, they were secretly working for the government and were murdered by their colleague Otto Octavius, soon to become Doctor Octopus.

Koepp also introduces both Gwen Stacy and her father, Captain Stacy, who dies saving a kid from Doc Ock. But since Spider-Man is seen trying to rescue him, everyone thinks he's the murderer. The Daily Bugle labels him a "COP KILLER!"

This would then lead to Gwen dying, "that follows sort of The Empire Strikes Back model," which is certainly an intriguing, dark turn of events. Less intriguing is the secondary villain uncharitably named simply "foreign man" who is of some "indeterminate ethnicity." Which ... isn't great, Dave.

Koepp's entire archive is worth poking around in. An early draft of Jurassic Park, for example, doesn't include the character of Ian Malcolm. And John Hammond's iconic line "Welcome to Jurassic Park" was originally spoken by another (ultimately deleted) character, made less awe-inspiring with the addition of "I'm Ed, welcome to Jurassic Park."

Also, Nedry was originally going to smuggle dinosaur embryos off the island in a "Gillette Foamy" can, presumably before the production was able to get their hands on that sweet, sweet Barbasol money. Meanwhile, if you really do want to see the Stacy family die, while Peter learns that his parents were murdered in a conspiracy, watch the two Amazing Spider-Man films ... or, you know, spend your time watching something good.

You (yes, you) should follow JM on Twitter! And check out the podcast Rewatchability

Top Image: Columbia Pictures