No, seriously.
SuperHeroHype may soon collapse with the incoming hits but here’s their announcement.
Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios announced today they are moving forward with a film based on a script by James Vanderbilt that focuses on a teenager grappling with both contemporary human problems and amazing super-human crises.
The new chapter in the Spider-Man franchise produced by Columbia, Marvel Studios and Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin, will have a new cast and filmmaking team. Spider-Man 4 was to have been released in 2011, but had not yet gone into production.”
Now, this is crazy news. Not least because this is another Hulk-style reboot just than a few years after the most recent incarnation, but also because the film series Raimi created was very successful, and nowhere near in need of a total reboot. But this is not The Fantastic Four, whose own reboot isn’t looking too likely. This is Spider-Man and for many people Tobey Maguire is Peter Parker. The story arcs were completed in a fairly overblown manner in the trilogy but half the fun of seeing Spider-Man on the big screen again was the thrill of a nostalgic and fresh look at a beloved hero – that’s not an easy thing to do.
Matt Tolmach, president of Columbia Pictures said: “Now everything begins anew, and that’s got us all tremendously excited about what comes next. Under the continuing supervision of Avi and Laura, we have a clear vision for the future of Spider-Man and can’t wait to share this exciting new direction with audiences in 2012.”
Sam Raimi had this to say:
“Working on the Spider-Man movies was the experience of a lifetime for me. While we were looking forward to doing a fourth one together, the studio and Marvel have a unique opportunity to take the franchise in a new direction, and I know they will do a terrific job,” said Sam Raimi.
The rest of the world commented: “WTF.”