Press Release: SPIDER-MAN 4 dead, franchise gets BATMAN/BOND style reboot for SUMMER 2012!!
Spider-Man gets a complete reboot, ALREADY!
In what is an absolute travesty for comic book movie fans everywhere and an embarrassingly short-sighted, rather insane over-reaction from the heads at Sony - a studio press release has just gone out confirming today's late in the day report from dynamic duo Mike Fleming & Nikki Finke that SONY ARE REBOOTING THE SPIDER-MAN FRANCHISE! As we all expected he would, director Sam Raimi did the right thing and walked out on the series when he couldn't have The Vulture as a villain. Sony then made the audacious decision to reboot the whole thing and start again from scratch. New director/new cast (Tobey Maguire & Kirsten Dunst are gone - Maguire quit without Raimi, and no-one probably bothered to tell Dunst)/new vision - and it'll hit our cinema screens in June 2012. 
James Vanderbilt, who wrote a script for Spider-Man 4 that Sam Raimi is actually said to have "hated" - is credited as the writer of the new reboot, probably changing around his original draft to fit in with Sony's idea of a new series. A series by the way, which will find Peter Parker once again in high school! Oh yes - they are going there again. 
The popular rumour tonight is that it'll be in 3-D and many are gushing over the idea that James Cameron could come in (as he has a free schedule in this post-Avatar world) and finally make the comic book movie he always dreamed of (see this article) and well, it's hard to believe that Sony won't give him a call. But it's doubtful they would ever give Cameron anywhere near the full creative control he would need for him to be interested, and whoever does come and take-over this series is likely to be under strict supervision by Sony every step of the way. That's what killed Raimi's franchise ultimately, and it will probably kill this series from movie no. 1, I say. Sony's full press release (with a few more of my thoughts after it)...
Culver City, CA (January 11, 2010) -- Peter Parker is going back to high school when the next Spider-Man hits theaters in the summer of 2012. 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. A decade ago we set out on this journey with Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire and together we made three Spider-Man films that set a new bar for the genre. When we began, no one ever imagined that we would make history at the box-office and now we have a rare opportunity to make history once again with this franchise. Peter Parker as an ordinary young adult grappling with extraordinary powers has always been the foundation that has made this character so timeless and compelling for generations of fans. Were very excited about the creative possibilities that come from returning to Peter's roots and we look forward to working once again with Marvel Studios, Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin on this new beginning, said Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment.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.We have had a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration and friendship with Sam and Tobey and they have given us their best for the better part of the last decade.This is a bittersweet moment for us because while it is hard to imagine Spider-Man in anyone elses hands, I know that this was a day that was inevitable, said Matt Tolmach, president of Columbia Pictures, who has served as the studios chief production executive since the beginning of the franchise. Now everything begins anew, and thats 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 cant wait to share this exciting new direction with audiences in 2012."Spider-Man will always be an important franchise for Sony Pictures and a fresh start like this is a responsibility that we all take very seriously," said Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures. "We have always believed that story comes first and story guides the direction of these films and as we move onto the next chapter, we will stay true to that principle and will do so with the highest respect for the source material and the fans and moviegoers who deserve nothing but the best when it comes to bringing these stories and characters to life on the big screen."The studio will have more news about Spider-Man in 2012 in the coming weeks as it prepares for production of the film.It took Marvel 37 years in the comic book format to reboot the series but it's taken Hollywood just a decade, and with only THREE STORIES told at that. What a sham, a mockery for each and every movie-goer who believed in this franchise and were hoping to eventually see all of the major villains we loved from the comics translated to the screen, and their interesting stories told over dozens and dozens of movies with an actual continuity - something the James Bond series lacked until recently.
Kraven's Last Hunt, the evolution of Dr. Curt Connors into the Lizard, the turning of Bruce Campbell into Mysterio, a relationship blossoming between Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy which splits Parker/MJ apart and could have led to the shocking death of Stacy, a Sinister Six movie featuring Electro, The Vulture, Chameleon, Shocker, Rhino and Black Cat - new villains they could have created from scratch, villains they could re-use that they didn't kill off (Sandman). A return of Venom - but done the right way this time. Hell, even Morbius and fucking Hammerhead I would have paid money to see. So many villains, so many stories untapped. It really didn't need to come to this and I dread the whole thought of having to go through the whole origins of Spidey again and watch Peter Parker be bit by a radioactive spider once more, see another actor play Harry Osbourne and Uncle Ben and everything that happens to them - and Peter Parker going after MJ - man we just don't need it. The best we can hope for is an Incredible Hulk style reboot where they don't actually re-hash much but it's clear it's a different series, so hopefully we'll get a new villain and situation to what we have seen already. The only way I could believe this could be a good idea is in the unlikely event that Marvel were able to come to an agreement with Sony to cross-pollinate and let Spider-Man play around with The Avengers but that's so unlikely to happen, despite the benefit it would bring to both studios. As for Raimi, well another Spider-Man 3 situation wasn't good for anybody, so I guess we should be thankful for that. This whole reboot idea is a big kick in the teeth for what the director has brought to his 10 years working for Sony and I don't think any of us will ever forget that. His Spidey movies changed everything and we wouldn't be in the place we are now without his original movie, not just with Spidey but the rest of the comic book movie universe. Mike Fleming reports that Raimi is likely to move onto his epic World of Warcraft next and forget the whole Spidey situation, or he could make The Given Day - an adaptation of Dennis Lehane's novel, presumably if Warcraft's script isn't ready yet. He could have made Tiddlywinks: The Movie, and as long as he had passion in making it - I would have rather seen that than a passion-less Spider-Man 4.