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Why Black Cat was cut from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 movie, according to the screenwriters
Spider-Man 2 would’ve included the Black Cat, but writers Al Gough and Miles Millar thought she would crowd the film
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There’s a lot going on in Spider-Man 2. Sam Raimi’s 2004 film has Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker struggle with losing his powers, battling Doctor Octopus, trying to win Mary Jane’s heart, and not to mention all the drama surrounding Harry Osborn.
Is it any wonder there was no room for the Black Cat?
Al Gough and Miles Millar, who are known for showrunning Smallville and Wednesday, nearly had Black Cat in their early story treatments. “I think we had Black Cat, did we not,” Miles Millar asks during an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “I think we talked about it but didn’t put her in the script. Because you just kind of overstuff the bag,” Al Gough recalls.
Reportedly, Black Cat would’ve tried to get Spider-Man to give up his life as Peter Parker, which would’ve played with the film’s theme of Peter struggling with his double life. Although the storyline was dropped, it made it into the video game adaptation.
Sam Raimi would later toy with including Felicia Hardy in Spider-Man 4 but using the name Vultress instead. The idea got far enough that Anne Hatheway was cast in the role before the film fell apart.
While it would’ve been nice to see Felicia in Spider-Man 2, you can’t argue with Millar and Gough’s logic about her crowding the film. Still, at least we have the video game to give us a peak at what might have been.
Consider this a meta post-credits scene for Marvel fans - the four key articles you need to read next to continue the thrills:
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