Choreographer Reveals Tobey Maguire Refused Additional Dance Scene in ‘Spider-Man 3’
Sam Raimi’s ‘Spider-Man 3’ concluded the original Spider-Man trilogy, but not in the best way. The first film was amazing, and the second is still lauded as one of the best comic book movies of all time, but the third movie fell short.
At the time, Sony had ambitious plans for the franchise, including three additional movies and spin-offs. However, after the critical failure of ‘Spider-Man 3’ (despite its commercial success), the studio canceled these plans. Thus, ‘Spider-Man 3’ effectively ended what had been a very successful franchise.
Putting all that aside, the movie will be remembered for Tobey Maguire’s (in)famous “Evil Peter” dance scene. Depending on your perspective, it was either a cringeworthy moment of secondhand embarrassment and laughter or a stroke of comic book genius from a director who understood that comic book characters could also be wacky and fun. Regardless, the scene went down in history. However, according to a recent interview, Raimi had plans for another similar scene that would have been even crazier.
The interview, featured in the Huffington Post, originally focused on the cult classic rom-com “10 Things I Hate About You,” which celebrates its 25th anniversary. While it provided insights into the beloved film, it also connected to Spider-Man through choreographer Marguerite Pomerhn Derricks, who worked on both movies.
Pomerhn Derricks, a former ballerina turned seasoned movie choreographer, has crafted some of cinema’s most iconic dance sequences. During the interview, she recalled her work on ‘Spider-Man 3’ and revealed that Tobey Maguire declined to film an additional dance scene, which she believed would have surpassed the memorable “Evil Peter” sequence.
I talked to Heath about Fred Astaire and just the couple of little moves that he does — the slides to the side and that long-pass grapevine. It would take an actor like Heath, who was fearless, to not be worried about how he was going to come off, not to worry that it was old-school.
Years later, when I got “Spider-Man 3” with Tobey Maguire, I remember meeting with him and Sam Raimi, and Tobey did not want to dance. There was this whole breakdancing scene that turned him off. I was developing this number and bringing in all these head-spinners to be his body doubles, and Tobey was negative, negative, negative. So one day I went to his house, and I started showing him Fred Astaire stuff, and that’s what we ended up doing for “Spider-Man 3.” But it was because of Heath. I told Tobey, “You doing it is not going to age you. You’re just going to make these classic moves fresh and hip and new.” Watching Heath do that in the stands, that’s exactly what he did. In his youth and his fearlessness, he made them look so cool.
Source: Huffington Post
This revelation is certainly intriguing, and while we’re uncertain about whether we would have welcomed that scene in the movie, we’re inclined to support Maguire’s decision. What are your thoughts? Do you think the scene would have been too much, or would you have enjoyed seeing Maguire perform a breakdance routine? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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