Entries in the Spider-Man Trilogy with their own Trivia pages:
- Films:
- Spider-Man: The Movie (Video game)
Trivia for the film:
- Approval of God:
- Sam Raimi finds the trilogy's memes "hysterically funny."
- While Tobey Maguire said his reaction towards the memes are "fairly neutral", he does think the "Bully Maguire" videos are very funny
. He also loved the little kid who did the dance while dressed up like him.
- Cash-Cow Franchise: The three movies were huge financial successes. Even the third, which was less well-received by critics or fans than the previous films, was still a success, to the point of being the highest grossing domestic release of 2007, and it was the highest grossing Spider-Man film worldwide until Spider-Man: No Way Home took the title 14 years later. That's also the reason why, even after struggling with a reboot attempt, Sony Pictures didn't let the rights go to Marvel Studios and only partner with them if it benefits them.
- Cast the Runner-Up:
- James Franco auditioned for Peter Parker before being cast as Harry Osborn.
- Joe Manganiello also auditioned for Peter before being cast as Flash Thompson.
- Elizabeth Banks auditioned for Mary Jane Watson, but was deemed too old for the role. She was instead cast as Betty Brant.
- Stan Lee lobbied for years to play J. Jonah Jameson himself, but was too old by the time production started, so J. K. Simmons was cast. Lee did make his traditional cameos in the trilogy.
- Topher Grace was considered for Peter Parker. He would play Eddie Brock in Spider-Man 3.
- The Danza:
- Elizabeth Banks as Elizabeth "Betty" Brant.
- Ted Raimi as Ted Hoffman.
- Dawson Casting: In the first film, 20-year-old Kirsten Dunst, 24-year-old James Franco, 26-year-old Joe Manganiello and 27-year-old Tobey Maguire all play (senior) high schoolers.
- Deleted Scene: See here.
- Development Gag:
- The second film has a couple of playful jabs at Tobey Maguire's back problems, which nearly forced him to drop out. This includes the "I'm back, I'm back! ...My back, my back!" scene, and a Freeze-Frame Bonus Bugle headline claiming link between back pain and brain shrinkage. That headline is actually a lot more mean-spirited than it seems: Maguire's back problems were a point of contention on set, and it was generally assumed by most of the production staff that he was using his condition to avoid showing up on the set or working on days that he didn't feel like it (regardless of whether or not that was true). At one point, they even threatened to fire and replace him.
- Concepts for the cancelled fourth film are used for subsequent reboots and other adaptations, such as;
- Dr. Connors turning into the Lizard and being the film's antagonist (used in The Amazing Spider-Man). And then this incarnation of Spider-Man fighting him in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
- Felicia Hardy making an appearance (used in The Amazing Spider-Man 2).
- A Love Interest of Spidey from the comics being Related in the Adaptation to the Vulture as his daughter (used in Spider-Man: Homecoming).
- Peter and MJ having marital problems (used in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse).
- Quentin Beck making an appearance (used in Spider-Man: Far From Home).
- Development Hell: One of the most infamous cases in comic book movie history. The rights for an actual Spider-Man film changed from script to script, hand to hand, company to company for over 15 years.
- Fake American: Rosemary Harris, who plays Aunt May, is British. Ditto Alfred Molina as Otto Octavius in the second film.
- Follow the Leader: The success of the films brought a wave of interest in Marvel's properties which it had sold to multiple studios, including: Daredevil, Hulk, The Punisher (2004), Fantastic Four (2005) and it played a huge impetus in getting Iron Man made, which of course led to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in time.
- Hostility on the Set: When James Franco joked about Tobey Maguire's "frog-like" features on set, the latter was reportedly genuinely upset by Franco's comments. This created friction between the two actors, which led to the existing rivalry between them now - a rivalry that was admitted to by Maguire in interviews since.
- Real-Life Relative:
- Sam Raimi's brother Ted plays Ted Hoffman in all three films. Sam's children have also cameoed throughout the trilogy.
- The second film has twins Spencer and Peyton List playing siblings (not stated if also twins) saved by Peter at the beginning. Tobey Maguire's half-brothers are also in the same film, playing the two boys who give Peter back his mask after the iconic Trainstopping scene.
- Refitted for Sequel:
- Doctor Octopus was going to be a villain in the first film alongside The Green Goblin, but Sam Raimi decided that one villain was enough, and saved him for 2.
- Footage of Harry Osborn cradling his father's body after the final fight scene of the original film was shot, but left unused until it was repurposed for a flashback Harry has in 3.
- Separated-at-Birth Casting: There are moments where you can look at James Franco and say with confidence, "Yeah, that does look like Willem Dafoe's son."
- Star-Making Role:
- For Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. It was also James Franco's first big role, but he never became a main event player until later on. Some actors and actresses in the cast also got additional boost because of the trilogy.
- It was also one for Willem Dafoe who until then had made a name for himself in The '80s (in Platoon and The Last Temptation of Christ) but appeared after that largely in independent films. This was his first appearance in a major blockbuster (apart from the much-maligned Speed 2: Cruise Control), and it led to more prominent parts, to the point that he has become bankable as "a known name" for a number of independent films (such as The Florida Project) that otherwise would struggle to get funding.
- J. K. Simmons got a major boost thanks to this film and his monumental performance as J. Jonah Jameson. Eventually he found work as a respected character actor (working with The Coen Brothers in particular) and a voice actor, much in demand.
- What Could Have Been: See here
- Word of Saint Paul: Bruce Campbell stated in a 2023 interview that his cameos in this trilogy and his cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are all the same character, though he didn't specify whether Pizza Poppa is an alternate counterpart of his character in the trilogy or if he's the same character somehow transported to Earth-838.
