List of accolades received by the 2002–2007 Spider-Man film series
The first film in the franchise, "Spider-Man", was released to US theaters on May 3, 2002. Its story follows Peter Parker (played by Tobey Maguire), a high-school student who turns to crime-fighting in New York, under the alias of Spider-Man, after developing spider-like powers. The film sees him develop friendships with Harry Osborn (James Franco) and his love interest, Mary Jane Watson (portrayed by Kirsten Dunst). "Spider-Man" was praised for staying faithful to the comic series and for being an enjoyable movie, with Joe Morgenstern of "The Wall Street Journal" finding the film to be "unusually good" for its genre. Raimi's 2002 release topped the box office with ticket revenue totaling to $114.8 million. By the end of its theatrical run, it had grossed over $820 million.
James Cameron's unrealized projects
After finishing the filming of "True Lies", on September 1, 1993, "Variety" reported that Cameron had sent a screenplay (apparently written in 1991) to Carolco Pictures for the long-planned "Spider-Man" film, a theatrical project that had been in development since 1983. Leonardo DiCaprio was attached to play Spider-Man, Cameron's frequent collaborator Arnold Schwarzenegger was attached to play Dr. Octopus. However after problems that producer Menahem Golan had with Carolco (which ended in the bankruptcy of the latter), Cameron left the project and signed a contract with 20th Century Fox. The film was finally released in 2002 directed by Sam Raimi and written by David Koepp.