Toby Maguire 'likes to be bad'
2007-04-23 12:15
Los Angeles - He enjoys a reputation as
an all-around good guy in Hollywood, but Spider-Man Tobey
Maguire says it's more fun being bad in the latest sequel of
the smash hit film series.
In Spider-Man 3, based on the spider-like superhero of
comic book fame, Maguire and movie director Sam Raimi show the
dark side of the crime-fighter's alter ego, Peter Parker.
Raimi, who has long been a fan of the Spider-Man comics,
said it was difficult to show his hero's dark side, but Maguire
had an opposite reaction.
"I probably had the most fun doing those (bad Spidey)
scenes," the star told reporters on Friday. "It's something I
think is kind of unexpected since Peter Parker behaves in some
of the ways he behaves."
Spider-Man 3 debuts in theatres on May 4, kicking off
Hollywood's lucrative summer season.
The first Spider-Man
movies combined to gross roughly $1.6bn at global box
offices, and No 3 is expected to be a blockbuster, too.
For Spider-Man 3, Raimi and the other filmmakers decided
to show audiences that crime-fighting fame has gone to
Spider-Man's head, and a proud Parker makes some rather dumb
mistakes with his girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson.
'Feelings of darkness'
Moreover, a meteorite crashes to Earth oozing a black
liquid that clings to Parker, enhancing his superpower and
causing him to do more harm than good in some cases.
"I want him to be a good person," said Raimi. "But when I
take a grander view of it, I realise this is something he's got
to go through so he can find his truest self. This is a part of
himself that had never been explored, these feelings of
darkness."
Never fear, Spidey fans. Even though he does some bad, the
red-and-blue-suited superhero does plenty of good, too, as he
tries to save humanity from new villains, Sandman and Venom.
Questions about a fourth film
Spider-Man 3 received its world premiere earlier this
week in Tokyo, and many questions have been asked about whether
Maguire, Raimi and Kirsten Dunst, who plays Mary Jane Watson,
would return for a fourth film.
In interviews on Friday, the consensus among the trio of
key players was that they likely would if all three committed
to the project. For now, however, nothing is in the works.
"I'm not really committed either way, and we'll see what
happens," said Maguire.