Movies News Talk
Remember 2007 when Spider-Man 3 hit the theaters and made us all say "Whoa?" It was full of iconic scenes, villains, and the return of our friendly neighborhood superhero. The trilogy ended with mixed reception (some really loved those emo dance scenes, while others were left scratching their heads) but 17 years later, we're all realizing Spider-Man 3 is way cooler than we realized back then! Let's revisit where all those actors went in the world of Hollywood!
Tobey Maguire? Yeah, he totally became the definition of Peter Parker. Everyone remembers his goofy charm and how he really nailed those Spider-Man acrobatics! Maguire went on to become a pretty major movie star (Remember The Great Gatsby? Or Seabiscuit?). Even though his post-Spider-Man Movies weren't huge blockbusters, people still adore his version of Peter, and he even made a crazy-good comeback as the original Spidey in the 2021 mega hit Spider-Man: No Way Home! And just last year, he starred in Babylon! No word if he'll be back to the MCU again, but everyone hopes so!
Kirsten Dunst – one of those child stars who had some big early roles like "Interview With a Vampire" - made that smooth transition into grown-up Hollywood. It's always interesting to see her career path as she's not just a one-dimensional actress! Remember "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"? It was cool! Dunst even starred in "Marie Antoinette"! You couldn’t ask for a cooler resume! Now, after starring in "The Power of the Dog", she has us hoping to see her back as MJ, maybe alongside Tobey Maguire, who knows, if the MCU wants to do another Multiverse craziness!
James Franco almost became the first ever "Spider-Man" on the big screen but we all know he's pretty talented so it worked out fine, right? He turned into the heartthrob Harry Osborn (and eventually that wild villain!). He ended up being this charming and edgy guy.
Franco went on to a ton of other movie roles like "Pineapple Express" and "127 Hours" - Talk about some real acting skills! After some not-so-great headlines in recent years, we might be seeing less of Franco on screen. Hopefully, that's just for a short while! I'm rooting for a big comeback.
It wouldn't be a Spider-Man movie without some epic villains. Here are a few from Spider-Man 3 we won't forget! First, let’s get to Thomas Haden Church. The dude brought the Sandman to life - Talk about a real heartbreaker. Church played a really compelling dude, someone who wasn’t totally evil. Remember how Spider-Man kind of had a softer side to him too? Well, Sandman just wanted his daughter to be safe!
Speaking of villains, we got Topher Grace. His take on Venom was wild, and I know a lot of us think of him as the villain who made us say "Woah"! And it's funny, because in those pre-Venom days, Topher was already in a really cool series called "That ’70s Show." Now, Topher still pops up in Movies here and there, even making fan-edited versions of classic films! Crazy cool.
There are a ton of other great faces in the movie (James Cromwell, J.K. Simmons!), but honestly, those three? Tobey, Kirsten, and James – we really got to know them in these films and loved watching their journeys play out on screen.
Even if you didn’t exactly love all of Spider-Man 3’s plot twists (looking at you, dancing scenes), there's a special place for those original movies! Even today, we see so many things that are coming from the choices that director Sam Raimi made back in the day. It's funny how things come back around, right? It all adds to the awesome legacy of Spider-Man 3, even if the overall reception wasn't amazing back then. And, hey, who knows, maybe they'll bring all those OG characters together again someday! Fingers crossed!