David Fincher is one of the most influential filmmakers of this generation, who has never gone to a film school. However, that does not mean that he has no idea what he is doing as he has left an indelible mark in psychological thrillers, biographical dramas, and true-crime series. While Fincher does not work on his scripts, he surely knows how to leave a lasting impression in the minds of the viewers with his well-thought-out plot points, dark color palettes, and intriguing camera movements.
While the Panic Room director is mostly known for his works in the thriller genre, he had once pitched a Spider-Man project in 1999 which had been rejected in the initial stage itself. His film was different from what we have seen in Tobey Maguire’s, Andrew Garfield’s, and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man films as David Fincher’s project decided to skip out the superhero’s origin story.
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David Fincher’s Spider-Man Project Got Trashed
Throughout the years, David Fincher has established himself as one of the most prized directors, delivering some of the most outstanding and impeccable pieces of films that stand the test of time, making each of his projects unique and evergreen. The filmmaker would often come up with intriguing and out-of-the-box ideas, he came up with a Spider-Man project that was unique as it did not showcase his origin, but it never became a reality as the idea was dismissed.
While speaking to The Guardian, Fincher shared his version of the Spider-Man film was different from the films released till now, as his version skipped the whole “bitten by a radioactive spider” arc, and it would already feature Peter Parker as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Even though the idea looked intriguing, the studio executives were not captivated by the unorthodox script.
“They weren’t f**king interested. And I get it. They were like: ‘Why would you want to eviscerate the origin story?’”
However, David Fincher was not keen on creating a Spider-Man movie that featured a “red and blue spider” and he would never stoop so low as to do such a thing.
“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.”
Since David Fincher refused to make the film as per the demands of the studio executives, the film ultimately went to Sam Raini who featured Tobey Maguire in the lead role. However, a standalone film with such a concept would be a massive hit, as DC had come up with Robert Pattinson’s The Batman, which did not feature the hero’s origin story but the plot and portrayal were so gripping that made it a smash-hit film, earning $765.9 million at the worldwide box office.
David Fincher Sent an Absurd Message To Brad Pitt
David Fincher’s The Killer in Paris featured an interesting wardrobe, he wanted to stray away from the traditional portrayals of a hitman. He chose the outfit, where Michael Fassbender’s character had an unglamorous costume, featuring a pair of Skechers, a zip-up fleece jacket with a prominent bucket hat. During an interview with The New York Times, the Fight Club director shared that a German tourist in Paris had rocked a similar outfit. The look caught the attention of the director in such a manner, that he immediately forwarded the idea to his costume designer, Cate Adams.
“I said, ‘This is what he needs to be, a guy who can get off a plane and buy a whole wardrobe on his way from the gate to the rental car.’”
The director, further added that he had sent a hilarious message to Brad Pitt, who had told Fincher that he would be wearing a bucket hat in film, Bullet Train.
“It’s funny because when Pitt told me he had selected a bucket hat for ‘Bullet Train,’ I was like, ‘OK, dude, you’re stepping into our sandbox.’”
Nevertheless, in both films the bucket hat suited the actors extremely well, adding some serious style and drip to their characters.
