David Fincher Once Pitched A ‘Spider-Man’ Film That Ditched The “Dumb” Origin Story

Though many might consider David Fincher an auteur filmmaker who is probably above making superhero films, that wasn’t always the case. Early in his career, after the success of “Se7en,” it appears Fincher was brought in by Sony to pitch the studio about what his version of “Spider-Man” might look like. And no, it’s not at all like the film Sam Raimi would eventually give audiences.

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Speaking to The Guardian, David Fincher talked about his brief flirtation with superhero filmmaking. After “Se7en,” the filmmaker pitched Sony for the eventual “Spider-Man” film. We all know that Sam Raimi would eventually get the gig, delivering a “Spider-Man” film in 2002 that would break records and truly lead to the superhero resurgence we saw in the 2000s. And it’s not hard to understand why Fincher’s take on the character didn’t resonate at all with Sony. 

According to the filmmaker, his version of the “Spider-Man” film would have focused on an adult version of Peter Parker, years removed from his fateful radioactive spider bite that would give him fantastical powers. And when asked by Sony why he would completely disregard one of the most iconic origins in all of superhero storytelling, Fincher told them the truth. And it cost him the job. 

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“They weren’t fucking interested,” Fincher said. “And I get it. They were like: ‘Why would you want to eviscerate the origin story?’ And I was like: ‘’Cos it’s dumb?’ That origin story means a lot of things to a lot of people, but I looked at it and I was like: ‘A red and blue spider?’ There’s a lot of things I can do in my life and that’s just not one of them.”

Honestly, no matter what you think about superhero filmmaking and David Fincher, it’s clear from that answer, the director probably shouldn’t really bother taking the reins on a comic book movie. Sure, if there existed a superhero story that played well with Fincher’s lack of interest in superheroes as a genre, it could work. However, if he truly believes the Spider-Man origin story is “dumb,” then it’s probably better for everyone involved if he stayed far, far away from Marvel. And that’s not a bad thing. Some people hold those stories up with reverence, and some just don’t get it. Neither is inherently right or wrong.

One thing David Fincher can definitely do is make a film about a murderer, and that’s exactly what he’s done with “The Killer,” which is in select theaters now and will hit Netflix on November 10.