'Spider-Man 5' and 'Spider-Man 6' moving forward

New sequels might not include Raimi, Maguire or Dunst

By HitFix Staff Monday, Aug 17, 2009 1:35 AM

Breaking: 'Spider-Man 5' and 'Spider-Man 6' moving forward

Spider-Man is going to get a lot of screentime in the next decade if Sony Pictures has its way.

Credit: Sony Pictures

Get ready for more 'Spider-Man' villain rumors.

Variety reports Sony Pictures has "quietly" brought on James Vanderbilt to write the screenplays for "Spider-Man 5" and "Spider-Man 6." Intriguingly, Vanderbilt was the first screenwriter on the currently prepping "Spider-Man 4," but director Sam Raimi recruited acclaimed playwright David Lindsay-Abaire for a rewrite seemingly not satisfied with the writer's work.

It appears Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios are much more on the Vanderbilt bandwagon than Raimi. Since the director and stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst aren't confirmed beyond a fourth film, the fifth and sixth installments are being plotted as a franchise reboot (if necessary). With Raimi on board to direct Warner Bros.' "World of Warcraft" it's unclear whether more "Spider-Man" is in his or the actors' future plans. Even with so much up in the air, the trade reports the studio is moving forward at this time to ensure there are no three to four year delays in between each subsequent sequel. Over four years will have passed when "Spider-Man 4" opens in the summer of 2011.

No word on what direction in particular Vanderbilt will take the new franchise, but the studio hopes to have them interconnected and shoot them back-to-back.

Vanderbilt's credits include another superhero adaptation, the upcoming Warner Bros. picture "The Losers" and David Fincher's "Zodiac."

"Spider-Man 4" will begin production in early 2010.

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Ben This is ridiculous. If Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst do not want to return for the 5th and 6th movies, can't they just be recasted? I'm really getting tired of rebooting franchises that just started a couple of years ago.

I was just a little kid when the first Spider-Man movie came out in 2002, so it was pretty much the most awesome movie ever made for me at the time (not so much now, but it's still great). I don't want to have to see a new Spider-Man vision already. Plus, the studios are going to try to make the new movies "darker" after the success of The Dark Knight. But the Spider-Man comics is much lighter than the Batman series.

There is no point to this at all.
August 17, 2009 at 7:48AM EST Reply to Comment
washington Personally I would have welcomed a new cast with part 4. Because of the delay between the films it would have been as good a time as any....and after the underwhelming (to be kind) 3rd installment, some fresh faces might help.
August 17, 2009 at 10:06AM EST Reply to Comment
eddie this is going to be worse then the superman reboot!?!? i mean just bring back venom and do it right...theres no reason for a reboot (like the guy above said) the punisher remakes were both THE WORST MOVIES EVER and the hulk ones were not the best ither....if you make spiderman 4 great , there will be no reason for a reboot
August 17, 2009 at 5:28PM EST Reply to Comment
- ulik I have to disagree, "The Incredible Hulk"(not "Hulk")was a great movie. Everyone did a fantastic job,the first one just lowered people's expectations to an extreme low and also left a sour taste in people's mouths. TIH was great!!
  August 29, 2009 at 11:45AM EST
Russell Voeller I think that Spider-Man does need to be rebooted. That way the story will make sense when the movie studio does an Avengers Movie. And mainly the 2 and 3 sucked. Only the first one was good. One other thing, the movie studio needs to have someone that loves spider-man. Sam is a good director but Sony can to better.
August 17, 2009 at 6:18PM EST Reply to Comment
- William Ya....they should reboot the whole franchise because a few people didn't like Spider-Man 2 and the response to the third was mixed(despite being the biggest box-office hit in the world in 2007). The franchose is one of the biggest in the history of movies both critically and financially.
  
  Seriously, not everyone hated Spider-Man 3 like trolls on the internet like to believe. The money that movie made is an obvious indicator, as no movie makes that kind of dough on one viewing a person.
  August 17, 2009 at 11:26PM EST
Jared Seriously? A reboot! I kinda doubt this is true.
I mean why reboot? People didn't like the 3rd one (I did) but they can fix it.

Like others said, rebooting this early is silly. Those superhero movies that got rebooted so quickly weren't as successful, and also, they didn't have two sequels!
And what are you gonna do, have Green Goblin again?
August 17, 2009 at 8:05PM EST Reply to Comment
If they were smart they would buy the rights back and make a standalone film about an adult Spidey and work him into the Avengers film. I hate all three movies. They're terrible.
August 18, 2009 at 11:51AM EST Reply to Comment
- terrible? did you even see them? number one was good, three was at least okay, but two was one of the best superhero movies ever made, and there is nearly unanimous agreement on this point.
  August 19, 2009 at 1:55AM EST
- Ron best superhero movie ever? have you seen the dark knight?
  September 23, 2009 at 10:23PM EST
motwera the fifth and the sixth is not needed that is too much
April 8, 2011 at 9:57PM EST Reply to Comment