Lately there’s been a trend growing amongst filmmakers to reboot, remake, or re-imagine certain ideas. Most noticeable of them all: you guessed it — the SPIDER-MAN franchise. Since 2002, we’ve only known Peter Parker as Tobey Maguire, Mary Jane as Kirsten Dunst, and Sam Raimi in charge of capturing the world they live in. As of mid-January, that all changed. Marc Webb, who helmed 500 DAYS OF SUMMER is now the new director of the teenaged Spidey reboot. Right now there are no other details, but it brought about a good question—why all the remakes?

A big reason for the Raimi/SPIDER-MAN bust-up was creative differences as well as time constraints. It’s been said that Raimi told the studio he couldn’t make the film by summer, nor would he be able express himself creatively. Raimi felt that if he did the film the way the studio wanted, then he wasn’t being faithful to himself or to the character. Do you know what happens when you give Sony creative control? You get SPIDER-MAN 3. It seemed like Sony was having a hard time letting Raimi create his own vision for the fourth film so ultimately the director split. So: why not let Raimi have control?

One of the biggest arguments was over the villain in the fourth installment. Raimi was really pushing to have John Malkovich as the Vulture, but Sony wanted Anne Hathway as The Black Cat. Then they realized that Hathaway would cost too much money, and if they wanted to do it in 3D then maybe a lesser known actor might cut on costs.

The high school reboot has split a lot of Spidey fans. Some are open to fresh, new ideas for the webslinger along the lines of what the studio has planned. Then there’s the other half that would rather take a dip in a vat full of acid than watch someone like Zac Efron take on the part of Peter Parker. Currently, the lead role has not been filled, but everyone from Efron to Logan Lerman (PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF) to Joseph Gordon Levitt has been rumored. The reason for choosing Webb to direct might have a lot to do with how perfectly the director captures relationships. Webb helmed last year’s sleeper hit, 500 Days of Summer. So maybe he’ll be able to give a boost to the Peter Parker/Mary Jane relationship. Recently, Sony was looking into still doing 3D for the film and putting James Cameron on as a creative consultant. Ironically, Cameron wrote a treatment for SPIDER-MAN back in 1991, but it was scrapped.

The obsession with remakes stifles true creativity and robs the viewer of a real lasting experience. Most of the movies made now won’t be as memorable as those of the past, and if they are it will be for all the wrong reasons. Moviegoers are letting these things slip through the cracks. Films like AVATAR, which might be visually appealing, still tell a fairly popular tale. The bottom line is the more these types of movies get made the smaller the chance we have to let in the true visionaries with new stories to tell. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to hear a different story. Oh, and if you could please, don’t f*%k up Captain America.

Words by Niki Stephens, Photos copyright Marvel Comics, Renaissance Pictures and Sony Pictures