“Don’t force anybody into anything”: Venom Producer Took the Blame For the Worst Spider-Man Movie Ever Made

When Spider-Man 3 was gearing up for its release, fans were expecting a blockbuster and a treat given that it finally had one long-awaited spidey villain: the Symbiote Venom. Instead, it is now one of the most divisive films in the franchise, and widely regarded as one of the worst Spider-Man films ever to have been released.

From the infamous Peter Parker dance scene to the lackluster plot, the film has been criticized for a range of things ranging from character development to storyline. While the director, Sam Raimi has been at the receiving end of criticism for a long time, a while back Venom producer took the blame for it.

Venom producer Avi Arad on the worst Spider-Man movie ever made

For years, in several interviews and more, filmmaker Sam Raimi has expressed his regret over the fiasco that Spider-Man 3 was. Having a 65% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film divided fans and critics over its storyline, with many hailing it as sluggish, foolish, and underdeveloped. The character Venom was especially regarded as ‘wasted.’

So while Raimi has been regretful over the film, back in 2018, Venom producer, Avi Arad admitted pushing the filmmaker to include Venom. In an exclusive chat with Screen Rant, he stated how he learned a crucial lesson from the experience.

In all fairness, I’ll take the guilt because of what Sam Raimi used to say in all of these interviews feeling guilty that I forced him into it. And you know what I learned? Don’t force anybody into anything. Therefore, (Sam) wasn’t interested in the inside to make how is Venom like us? How do we deal with the Venom, and Marvel is all metaphors.

Raimi, who brought several iconic spidey villains like Green Goblin and Doc Oc to the big screen, never really had a strong connection with the alien symbiote. As a result, Venom in Spider-Man 3 remained undeveloped, failing to capture the real essence of its comic book origins.

Spider-Man 3 remains one of the most divisive Spider-Man movies of all time

Out of all the Spider-Man movies ever made, Spider-Man 3 remains one of the most divisive films of all even today. Following the success of Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, fan expectations from the threequel were generally high, even more so given the presence of Venom.

While the film was a commercial success, grossing $890 million worldwide against a budget of $258 million (via Box Office Mojo), it was widely regarded as overstuffed, tonally inconsistent, and with poor character development.

Perhaps the biggest criticism the film faced was the inclusion of too many villains— Sandman, the New Goblin, and Venom— leading to the alien symbiote (for whom the fans were most excited) falling short of becoming a worthy antagonist.

From Peter Parker’s emo transformation to the film’s sluggish narrative, fans have found much to hate about the film. On the other hand, there are some who have come to appreciate Spider-Man 3 endearing storytelling and compelling action sequences. Yet, regardless of what one believes of Spider-Man 3, it now stands as a testament to how studio pressure can shape a film’s legacy and leave it in jeopardy.

Spider-Man 3 is available to be streamed on Disney+.

This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire