Here's one comic-book adaptation I would dearly like to see - Wes Anderson's take on Spider-Man. It is a tale of love and photography, of responsibility and revenge; a film so arch it's practically humpbacked. For all that, The Amazing Spider-Man is not as much of a stretch as it first appears. Downplay those distracting crime-fighting elements and Peter Parker could easily take his place amid the ensemble cast of The Royal Tenenbaums and The Darjeeling Limited. He is, in short, a very Andersonian antihero.

Sadly, it seems that this is a tale that will never see the light of day. Anderson has yet to shoot a Spider-Man picture and (despite swirling rumours to the contrary) surely isn't about to embark on one now. Neither, for that matter, has he remade The Lord of the Rings in his own image or launched a gloriously prostrate attack ad for John McCain.

Some directors spawn imitators. Others, it transpires, prompt spoofs. For better or worse, Anderson's work is now so instantly recognisable that its hallmarks can be easily distilled and converted into a simple comedy formula. Or, as he puts it himself: "I have my own personality and some people are going to like that and others are not. I think some people find it very annoying when they feel that a film-maker's signature is too visible. But without ever quite making that choice, that tends to be the way I make 'em. You can spot 'em a mile off."

It is the fate of the spoof to be viewed as somehow derogatory; the cruel, crass cousin of homage. But is this strictly fair? The Amazing Spider-Man shows how they can actually be more honest – and more affectionate – than some coy and slippery imitation. In the meantime, I eagerly await the next Wes Anderson Film We'll Never See. Who knows? Some of these may yet come to eclipse the ones we do.