"The Amazing Spider-Man" was well received by audiences and the box office, but a number of critics felt that the film was a retread of the original series.
Justin Craig of Fox News wrote, "The Amazing Spider-Man" would be amazing if we didn't just see it a few years ago." C.J. Johnson of ABC Radio in Australia adds,"Don't believe the marketing: this is the same old boring origin story all over again. Watch Peter Parker get bitten! Watch him discover his spider-powers! Watch him use them on the "school bully" before taking them to the street to fight crime!"
This obviously leaves a great deal of questions regarding the upcoming sequel which will witness the return of Mary Jane Watson and Norman and Harry Osborn; the three characters were featured prominently in the original trilogy directed by Sam Raimi.
However, actress Emma Stone, who plays Gwen Stacey in the new series, assures everyone that the script is excellent. "I'm in it, Andrew is in it, they just cast Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn who is such a great actor. And Shailene Woodley as Mary Jane, who's also wonderful. So there's all that and the script is very, very good. I'm very much looking forward to it."
She adds, "I'm very happy that our first one was received so well, it'll be cool in the next one to see how Gwen and Peter bridge that distance that was between us at the end of it. I think the way it all unfolds is pretty neat. And I hope they continue letting Gwen be heroic, I think they might!"
The movie will feature Jamie Foxx as Electro and Paul Giamatti as Rhino. Chris Cooper was recently signed on to play Norman Osborn.