With Spider-Man 3 one of the most lucrative films ever made, it's a wonder that the executives at Sony aren't consumed with paddling around in a swimming pool full of popcorn-butter-stained money, looking towards Spider-Man 4 -- Raimi or not. The only problem is that in the eyes of many film fans, Spider-Man 3 was so terrible it shouldn't have counted.

It's the Superman 3 and 4 problem all over again: sequels so execrable that the only way to continue the franchise is to deftly ignore their existence, a la Superman Returns.

But Jay Garmon has a better idea: re-make Spider-Man 3 and ditch that whole Sandman subplot, and make Harry Osbourne the progenitor of the Venom symbiote.

Thus, Harry uses the last of his fortune to perfect Project: Venom, a symbiotic lifeform that feeds off emotion, regulating the psychotic tendencies the Goblin Gas induces, and converts that emotion into additional strength, speed, etc. With the combined Goblin/Venom powers, Harry should be able to defeat Pete easily. This also explains why the "new" Goblin is black and not green -- the symbiote suit. It also avoids the pointless and stupid extraterrestrial origin of the symbiote, and makes it much more relevant to the Harry/Pete rivalry.

It's easy for fans to 'what if' a terrible film, but Jay's alternate Spider-Man 3 hits all the right buttons between fan service and cinematic necessity. Let's see him hired to write the Lizard into Spider-Man 4.

What Should Have Happened (But Didn't) in Spider-Man 3 [Geekend]