Theatrical trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man
First official image from Skyfall released
Matthew Vaughn will direct the X-Men: First Class sequel
Update: It’s official. Sony tweeted “Marc Webb, the Golden Globe nominated director, will helm the next chapter in the SPIDER-MAN franchise, set to hit theaters summer 2012.”
Update 2: Webb says, “This is a dream come true and I couldn’t be more aware of the challenge, responsibility, or opportunity. Sam Raimi’s virtuoso rendering of Spider-Man is a humbling precedent to follow and build upon. The first three films are beloved for good reason. But I think the Spider-Man mythology transcends not only generations but directors as well. I am signing on not to ‘take over’ from Sam. That would be impossible. Not to mention arrogant. I’m here because there’s an opportunity for ideas, stories, and histories that will add a new dimension, canvas, and creative voice to Spider-Man.”
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We heard around 2 weeks ago that (500) Days of Summer director Marc Webb had met with producers as he was apparently at the top of their list to direct the Spider-Man reboot. Now according to The Vulture not only will he be directing the reboot, he will also be directing a whole new trilogy.
Vulture can report that Sony will imminently announce a deal with (500) Days of Summer director Marc Webb to direct not one, but three Spider-Man movies in a rebooted franchise that will focus far more on the private life of Peter Parker.
He’s much cheaper than the old Spider-Man crew. The deal just now being sewn up calls for Webb to be paid roughly $10 million for the first film, with substantial bonuses built in if the picture reaches certain box-office milestones. (Coincidentally, Webb’s deal is being hammered out by the Gersh Agency, the feisty outfit which first put Tobey Maguire into the webslinger’s suit a decade ago.) This is a big savings from how his predecessor Sam Raimi was compensated. Unlike the now-departed Raimi, Webb won’t be getting paid a percentage of the films’ grosses. Compare that to Spider-Man 4, for which Raimi and star Tobey Maguire were expected to claim more than 25 percent of the gross.
If this is indeed the case we can expect an announcement from Sony in the near future. Sony clearly has confidence in Webb if they are signing him up for three movies, after all his hasn’t been around for long. (500) Days of Summer must have caught Sony’s eye and they’ve decided he’s the guy to direct a more contemporary Spider-Man movie, which will focus on “Peter Parker as a teenager battling today’s issues”. Whatever today’s issues are. Global warming?
