David Fincher Pitched A Spider-Man Movie In 1999, Without The "Dumb" Origin

Before Spider-Man became one of the biggest box office draws of all time--now spanning three different decades--director David Fincher pitched his idea for the superhero in 1999. The filmmaker wanted to ignore Peter Parker's origin story, which meant those in charge "weren't f**king interested."

Speaking with The Guardian, Fincher expressed how little he cares for Peter's beginnings while also understanding why he was rejected. "And I get it," he said. "They were like: 'Why would you want to eviscerate the origin story?' And I was like: 'Cos it's dumb?' That origin story means a lot of things to a lot of people, but I looked at it and I was like: 'A red and blue spider?' There’s a lot of things I can do in my life and that's just not one of them."

Ultimately, Sam Raimi--previously known for his horror roots with Evil Dead--helmed one of the most beloved superhero trilogies ever, starting with Spider-Man in 2002 starring Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and Willem Dafoe. Meanwhile, Fincher was coming off Fight Club in 1999 and went on to direct Panic Room in 2002 followed by Zodiac in 2007.

This is the second Fincher superhero project revealed recently that didn't get off the ground. In September, Man of Steel writer David S. Goyer said that he worked with Fincher on a Blade film draft before Se7en came out in 1995. The movie never officially entered production but apparently came very close.

Fincher also was lined up to direct a World War Z sequel at one point, which he said was a "little like The Last of Us." His newest movie, The Killer starring Michael Fassbender, just premiered in theaters over the weekend and will be available to stream on Netflix on November 10.