EXCLUSIVE SCOOP: Doctor Octopus to debut next week!

By: Patrick Sauriol
Date: Wednesday, July 09, 2003
Source: Anonymous source

If you've been off-planet for the past few months, SPIDER-MAN 2 (a.k.a. "The Amazing Spider-Man") has been filming in New York City and Chicago for the past month. Director Sam Raimi and stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst all return in the sequel to 2002's box office titan. This time the story has Peter/Spidey squaring off against the menace of Dr. Otto Octavius, a.k.a. Doctor Octopus, a madman who has accidentally grafted powerful animatronic arms to his abdomen. Alfred Molina plays Doc Ock in the film.

As was the case with the first film, fans are salivating to see what kind of design Raimi is using for the supervillain in SM2. Security has been tighter than Aunt May's underwear drawer during pre-production and filming of the picture, with very little in the way of insider information being released. Of course, we've had our own friend working for us, and they've told us of some of the trials and tribulations that Raimi and his effects team have had designing the arms of Doc Ock. To prove to you that our source is authentic, they told us about the casting of Molina as Doctor Octopus before the news broke online or in the trades. They've also told us about Raimi's desire to keep the mechanical arms as tangible and real as possible and to not use CGI unless the effect absolutely cannot be created any other way.

What I'm building up to here is when you can expect to finally see the good Doctor's tentacles. And it's sooner than you expect. Try next week -- and right smack dab in the heart of fan-friendly territory.


Our source tells us that Raimi will have the first look of Doctor Octopus' metal tentacles at next week's San Diego Comic Convention. Thousands of fans will be the first in the world to get a taste of what's to come next summer.

If you were quick and you knew where to look yesterday, a look at Ock's arms was posted online yesterday. Savvy readers of Superhero Hype caught a look at the tentacle design -- not the final mechanical apparatus -- when the Hype posted an image from a Hollywood design artist's website. The image and article has since been removed from Superhero Hype, rumored to be at the request of Sony Pictures.

Our Spider source also told us some other very interesting things about the production, storyline and surprises in store when we see SPIDER-MAN 2. However, we cannot report anything further at the present time for reasons that will become apparent as time goes by. Again, we trust our source because of our prior history working with them and the accurate and timely information they have provided. If they say Doc Ock will be at Comicon next week, we're expecting to see metal tentacles!


[A big, big thank you to our anonymous source who's been great to us!]

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