The Amazing Spider-Man 2


The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a 2014 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. The sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man, it is directed by Marc Webb and written by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and Jeff Pinkner from a story by Kurtzman, Orci, Pinkner and James Vanderbilt. The film features Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, alongside Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Campbell Scott, Embeth Davidtz, Colm Feore, Paul Giamatti and Sally Field. In the film, Peter Parker tries to protect his girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, as he investigates his parents' death while also encountering the supervillain Electro and his childhood friend Harry Osborn.
Development of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 began after the success of The Amazing Spider-Man. DeHaan, Giamatti, Felicity Jones, and Chris Cooper were cast between December 2012 and February 2013. Filming took place in New York City from February to June 2013. The film was released in 2D, 3D, RealD 3D, and IMAX 3D on May 2, 2014 in the United States, with two international premieres being held between March 31 and April 10 of that year. It grossed $716.9 million worldwide, making it the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2014.
The Amazing Spider-Man film series was originally intended to continue with at least two more sequels and several spin-offs, most notably films centered on Venom and the Sinister Six. In February 2015, Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios initiated a deal to share the Spider-Man film rights and reboot the character within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, cancelling future projects in The Amazing Spider-Man series. Tom Holland succeeded Garfield as Peter Parker / Spider-Man beginning with Captain America: Civil War, and a new Spider-Man film series set in the MCU began with Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2017. Both Garfield and Foxx reprised their roles in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which linked The Amazing Spider-Man films to the MCU using the concept of the multiverse.

Plot

, a scientist who left Oscorp, records a video message to explain his disappearance. He and his wife Mary flee aboard a private jet, which is soon hijacked by an assassin. The jet crashes and kills both Richard and Mary.
Years later, Richard and Mary's son, Peter, continues to fight crime as Spider-Man. After apprehending the Russian criminal Aleksei Sytsevich, Peter attends his high school graduation. He is dating Gwen Stacy but is torn by guilt, having promised Gwen's late father that he would avoid her to keep her safe. Due to Peter's reservations about the relationship, Gwen breaks up with him. A few months later, Peter's childhood friend, Harry Osborn, returns home to see his dying father, Norman Osborn, the CEO of Oscorp. Norman explains that his illness is genetic, and that Harry will soon begin having symptoms. Norman dies soon after, and Harry inherits Oscorp.
While working in an Oscorp laboratory, mild-mannered electrical engineer Max Dillon accidentally falls into a tank of genetically engineered electric eels, causing him to mutate into an electrokinetic being. Unaware of the extent of his power, Max wanders into Times Square, where he inadvertently causes a power outage. Peter arrives and helps the police apprehend Max, who is incarcerated at Ravencroft Institute. Gwen tells Peter that she will move to England if she earns a scholarship to Oxford University.
The first symptoms of Harry's illness begin showing, and he uses information his father gave him to deduce that Spider-Man's blood could save him. He asks Peter, who has been selling photos of Spider-Man to the Daily Bugle, to help him find Spider-Man. Peter is unsure what effects his blood would have on Harry, but is worried it could cause a dangerous mutation. Disguised as Spider-Man, Peter refuses to give blood to Harry, which enrages him. The vice president of Oscorp, Donald Menken, frames Harry for covering up Max's accident and takes control of the company. Harry offers to liberate Max, who now calls himself "Electro", in exchange for getting Harry back inside the Oscorp building; Max agrees.
Upon returning to Oscorp, Harry forces Menken to inject him with venom from genetically altered spiders. The venom turns Harry into a goblin-like being, and he puts on an armored suit that can heal injuries to his body. Meanwhile, Peter finds his father's video message, which reveals that his parents had to flee because Richard refused to collaborate with Norman on the creation of biogenetic weapons. Gwen is offered the Oxford scholarship, after which Peter professes his love for her and decides to move to England with her.
Max causes a power outage at a power station. Peter and Gwen arrive and overload Max's body with electricity, killing him. Harry arrives equipped with weapons, and discovers that Peter is Spider-Man. Swearing vengeance, he takes Gwen to the top of a clock tower. Peter subdues Harry but is unable to stop Gwen from falling to her death. Wracked by guilt and sorrow, Peter stops being Spider-Man.
Five months later, Harry is incarcerated at Ravencroft. When his associate, Gustav Fiers, visits him, Harry orders Fiers to break Sytsevich out of prison and provide him with Oscorp weaponry. Equipped with an electromechanical suit of armor, Sytsevich dubs himself "The Rhino" and rampages through the streets. Peter, re-inspired after watching a video of Gwen's graduation speech, returns to confront him as Spider-Man.

Cast

  • Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker / Spider-Man: A young man who developed spider-like abilities after being bitten by a genetically-modified spider. He uses these abilities to fight crime as the masked vigilante Spider-Man. Garfield said his performance involved exploring the idea of "being fatherless, being motherless, searching for purpose and finding a purpose within himself".
  • *Max Charles as a young Peter Parker.
  • Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy:
A high school student and Peter's girlfriend. When asked about Peter and Gwen's relationship in the sequel, Stone said, "She saves him more than he saves her. She's incredibly helpful to Spider-Man ... He's the muscle, she's the brains."
  • Jamie Foxx as Max Dillon / Electro:
An electrical engineer who works for Oscorp Industries and is later mutated into a powerful electrokinetic being following an accident, then taking the alias of "Electro". Foxx described the character as "a nobody" who initially idolizes Spider-Man. He develops an obsession with Spider-Man after being saved by him and obtains his powers through an accident at Oscorp involving electric eels. Foxx stated that the character would be redesigned to be more grounded and that the villain's classic yellow and green suit would be omitted in favor of a modern look, as depicted in the film.
  • Campbell Scott as Richard Parker: Peter's late father.
  • Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn / Green Goblin:
Peter's childhood friend and the son of Norman Osborn. He was sent away to boarding school around the same time Peter's parents disappeared and met him for the first time there. He eventually assumes the role of the Green Goblin after injecting a special serum of spider venom into his body, initially injected to provide a cure, which instead ushers his transformation into the Goblin.
  • Colm Feore as Donald Menken:
Oscorp's Vice President and Head of the Board. He is often in dispute with Harry over his capabilities of being a CEO to Oscorp, claiming that because Harry is a boy, he is incapable of leading the company.
  • Paul Giamatti as Aleksei Sytsevich / The Rhino:
A pawn for the Russian Mafia who allies with Harry and receives an electromechanical and rhinoceros-like suit of armor from him, deciding to call himself "The Rhino". Giamatti said of his character, "He's a Russian mobster. Russians are always good villains. I have an ability to just destroy things", he said. "My accent is pretty hammy. I loved doing it. It seemed to me like an opportunity to be as over-the-top hammy as possible. It was really fun."
  • Felicity Jones portrays Felicia Hardy, Harry's sidekick at Oscorp. While Jones was only credited as "Felicia" in the final film, her surname was presented as "Hardy" in a marketing video for the film's release on digital HD formats.
  • Sally Field as May Parker: Peter's aunt. Field was critical of the lack of depth in her role; during a 2016 appearance on The Howard Stern Show, she said that "It's really hard to find a three-dimensional character in , and you work it as much as you can, but you can't put 10 pounds of shit in a five-pound bag."
Embeth Davidtz as Mary Parker: Peter's late mother.
Marton Csokas portrays Ashley Kafka, the head of Ravencroft Institute, and B. J. Novak appears as Alistair Smythe, Dillon's boss and an Oscorp employee. Kari Coleman, Charlie DePew, Skyler Gisondo, and Jacob Rodier reprise their roles from the first film as Helen Stacy, Philip Stacy, Howard Stacy, and Simon Stacy, respectively, with the latter being uncredited. Chris Cooper, who portrays Norman Osborn, the founder of Oscorp and Harry Osborn's father, and Denis Leary, who reprises his role as George Stacy, appearing as a soul in Peter's visions, are also in uncredited roles. Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee has a cameo appearance as a guest at Peter and Gwen's graduation ceremony. Michael Massee reprises his role as the "Man in the Shadows" from the first film, with the character now credited as "Gustav Fiers ". Shailene Woodley was cast as Mary Jane Watson and filmed scenes that were ultimately cut from the final film. Aidy Bryant appears as a woman dressed as the Statue of Liberty.

Production

Development

In March 2011, James Vanderbilt was hired to write the sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man, after scribing the predecessor, before Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman were hired to rewrite the first draft the following year, later joined by Jeff Pinkner; screenplay credit went to Kurtzman, Orci, and Pinkner, with screen story credit given to the trio and Vanderbilt. The sequel's villain was teased in the 2012 film. Webb stated that the origin story would further unfold in the second installment. In June 2012, Webb said he was unsure whether he would return, though it was confirmed on September 28, 2012, that he would return to direct the sequel. He stated that he "wanted to create a universe that not only can withstand but anticipate future storylines" while also "working in and of itself for one movie." Andrew Garfield had also expressed hope to reprise his role, and in September 2012, it was confirmed that he would do so. Emma Stone was later confirmed to be reprising her role as Gwen Stacy, having signed a contract for two Amazing Spider-Man sequels. The costume was completely redesigned to be more faithful to the comics, following the mixed reaction of the costume from the first film. The eye lenses were changed to be much larger and solid white, while specially screen printed fabrics were used to allow the color of the costume to change in different lighting scenarios. The web shooters were also modified to be more streamlined with the suit.
Actor J. K. Simmons expressed interest in reprising his role as J. Jonah Jameson from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy should the studio offer it to him. In October 2012, Electro was rumored as the next villain. Jamie Foxx was given the role. That December, Foxx confirmed that he was cast as the character. During an interview with MTV, Foxx explained that the redesign of the character would be more grounded as well as details of his depiction, which were based upon the Ultimate Marvel incarnation of Electro. Eddie Redmayne, Sam Claflin, Douglas Booth and Boyd Holbrook tested for the role of Harry Osborn while, Alden Ehrenreich and Brady Corbet were also considered. Michael B. Jordan also read for the role. On December 3, 2012, Marc Webb revealed that Dane DeHaan was chosen to play Harry Osborn. Paul Giamatti was confirmed as a cast member in February 2013. Felicity Jones confirmed her involvement with the film under an undisclosed role. Giamatti also indicated in an October 2013 interview that he would return in The Amazing Spider-Man 3 as well. On February 27, 2013, Chris Cooper was cast as Norman Osborn.
By October 2012, Shailene Woodley was in talks for the role of Mary Jane Watson. By March 2013, Woodley had concluded filming her small role. Garfield recalled, "I think all of were in our backyards. We had two or three scenes with me talking over the fence, and there was one with us riding together on a motorcycle that we never got to shoot." By mid-June, Woodley's role was cut from the film, with director Webb explaining it as "a creative decision to streamline the story and focus on Peter and Gwen and their relationship."