It goes without saying that the Marvel Cinematic Universe changed the trajectory of cinema in its entirety and not just the superhero genre, but it’s not as if comic book adaptations were on life support prior to Iron Man reinventing the game.
Stephen Norrington’s Blade, Bryan Singer’s X-Men, and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man are pinpointed as the three most pivotal movies in reigniting a genre that was in real danger of fizzling out at the turn of the millennium, but the downside is that Hollywood decided to rush virtually every recognizable character into development as quickly as possible to capitalize.
For every Spider-Man 2 or X2: X-Men United, there was an Elektra or a Ghost Rider waiting in the wings to deliver nothing but disappointment. Ironically, the era of Marvel blockbusters prior to Kevin Feige’s revolution could be described as consistently inconsistent, but they do have one vocal backer in Tobey Maguire.
Speaking to Marvel, the longtime Peter Parker defended the merits of big screen costumed crimefighting prior to Robert Downey Jr. laying down a marker, even if it’s not quite a widely-echoed sentiment.
“I want to comment on the history of the genre. For me as a kid, I was watching superhero movies. In my experience there are plenty of terrific films and performers who take it seriously. It was maybe more erratic, and it kind of got more cohesive in time. I’ve heard people talk about how our Sam Raimi movies were some kind of influential turning point in these movies, which is really sweet and feels like an honor. And not to take away from all the great work that everybody did there, but for me, I have so much love and respect for what came before. I just wanted to acknowledge that!”
Now that the shared universe is in vogue, the age of standalone comic book capers has been dying out for a long time, but Maguire clearly doesn’t want you to forget about a back catalogue that contains such treasures as Blade: Trinity, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and Ben Affleck’s Daredevil.