10 Dumb Mistakes That Ruined Once Great Franchises

During the production of the first two Sam Raimi Spider-Man films, everyone gushed about the importance of producer Avi Arad, who had shepherded the web-slinger to big screen with a real understanding of the character. With Spider-Man 3, however, it quickly became apparent, that "understanding of the character" came with a massive f*ck-off asterisk.

Arad is a businessman first, and his primary area is toys (he was head of Toy Biz, Marvel's merchandise arm, and took over the whole company following the 1996 bankruptcy). This was where his focus on Spider-Man really landed - making as many plastic figures as possible - so for the threequel his goal was to get more of the iconic villains in, forcing Raimi to include Venom in a story that really didn't need him, among other things.

His prints were all over The Amazing Spider-Man films too; he pushed for the Lizard, a toy he'd been prepping throughout the Raimi run, and had a very money-based relationship with Sony chief Amy Pascal. There were plenty of other issues with the last three Spidey flicks, but the obsession of merch over story is a fundamental one.

It looks like the lesson has finally been learned, with Arad only getting a "special thanks" on next year's Homecoming (read: "We have to put you in the credits because we have to, but you're never coming close to Peter Parker again").