If you’re yet to see The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and really don’t want to be spoiled, then you ought to stop reading and turn back now. Seriously. Major spoilers follow. You have been warned…
Well, after a couple of years of rampant speculation, and a marketing campaign that pretty much gave it away anyway, Sony and director Marc Webb took a leaf out of the classic Spider-Man comic book arc ‘The Night Gwen Stacy Died’ with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as Emma Stone’s Gwen fell to her death during the climactic battle between Spidey (Andrew Garfield) and the Green Goblin (Dane DeHaan). Speaking to Digital Spy, Webb offered some insight into the decision to incorporate Gwen’s death into the sequel:
“It was something that, you know, as a fan of the comic books, it had such a profound effect on the culture, and me, even though I experienced it many years later. I think it’s important to understand there’s consequence in this universe and that not everything always turns out well. Storytelling is there because it helps you deal with and conceive of things that are tragic in your own life and I think that’s what we wanted to acknowledge. And there’s this idea about time and that’s where the theme of that movie came about, and is planted throughout the movie – the first shot of the movie is a ticking clock – and what happens with Gwen happens in the clocktower and it’s this idea that even a superhero can’t stop time, and that there’s certain inevitable qualities to being a heroic character and in a very real way Gwen is, if not more, heroic than Spider-Man.”
Were you glad to see ‘The Night Gwen Stacy Died’ playing out on the big screen, and how do you think the Webb and company handled her death? Let us know your thoughts…
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is out now in the UK and opens in North America on May 2nd, with a cast that also includes Sally Field (Aunt May), Chris Zylka (Flash Thompson), Campbell Scott (Richard Parker), Embeth Davidtz (Mary Parker), Martin Sheen (Ben Parker) and Denis Leary (George Stacy) alongside new additions Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained) as Electro, Paul Giamatti (12 Years a Slave) as The Rhino, Chris Cooper (American Beauty) as Norman Osborn, Colm Feore (Thor) as Donald Menken, Felicity Jones (Like Crazy) as Felicia Hardy, Marton Csokas (The Lord of the Rings) as Dr. Kafka and B.J. Novak (The Office) as Alistair Smythe.
Originally published April 20, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
