We’ve already heard from Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire on the demise of Spider-Man 4 in the form of a press release (i’m sure we’ll get their real thoughts in a few years), and now we have a few quotes on the matter from James Franco and Kirsten Dunst, who we know played Harry Osborn and Mary-Jane Watson in the trilogy.

The end of Spider-Man 4 wouldn’t have impacted Franco in a big way (bar a possible flashback/mirror talking scene), however he spoke to E! Online about Sony’s plan to reboot the franchise. Kirsten Dunst also spoke briefly.

“I don’t have a problem with that,” Franco, who played Harry Osborn in the superhero franchise, said at tonight’s Sundance Film Festival opening-night premiere of HOWL, his new movie about the late poet Allen Ginsberg. “It worked out well for Batman, and comics themselves have different artists and writers. I think it’s perfectly fine.”

But he cautioned, “I think for the viewers you want a little space [between Raimi's and Webb's flicks], so you can get everyone else out of your head.”

Franco and Maguire’s Spider-Man costar Kirsten Dunst told us the other night at the Art of Elysium benefit, “It’s sad to see it end. I think for Sam it was time for him to move on, and so we’re all going to move on with him. But we’ve had a good 10 years.”

I’m sure Raimi, Maguire and Dunst are all disappointed that things didn’t work out, as it would have been their chance to improve upon Spider-Man 3 and we know from past interviews that they like working with each other.

Now Sony are moving ahead with the reboot directed by Marc Webb with a cast of relative unknowns and a budget of around $80 million (which is roughly the amount they would have had to pay the trio to return).

We knew last week when filming was halted that things weren’t going well with Spider-Man 4, however Tobey Maguire didn’t seem too worried about it. In fact he said he was “excited” and that the delay was just a “process”.

Well we have some bad news (or good) depending on your view, as Nikki Finke is reporting that Spider-Man 4 has been scrapped, Tobey Maguire, Sam Raimi and Kirsten Dunst are out, and a reboot is under-way:

Mike Fleming and I have just confirmed that Sony Pictures decided today to reboot the Spider-Man franchise after Sam Raimi pulled out of Spider-Man 4 because he felt he couldn’t make its summer release date and keep the film’s creative integrity. This means that Raimi and the cast including star Tobey Maguire are out. There will be no Spider-Man 4. Instead, the studio will focus on a reboot script by Jamie Vanderbilt with a new director and a new cast. All this took place today at meeting on the lot today. An official Sony Pictures news release about it is expected.

My sources tell me that Raimi told Sony Pictures: “I can’t make your date. I can’t go forward creatively.” And, so, once he said “That’s it”, Sony Pictures co-chairman Pascal and Columbia Pictures’ Matt Tolmach decided they didn’t want to replace him and instead chose to reboot the franchise. Insiders also tell me that Tobey Maguire heard the news in a phone call with Amy today. I’m told Tobey wasn’t upset. “He’s made 3 great Spider-Man movies. He’s done really well. But he’s the kind of guy who, if Sam wanted to go forward, would have been there for Sam and the studio. Absolutely.”

I’m actually pretty disappointed by this. I was looking forward to Spider-Man 4, and it’s way too early for a reboot. Why couldn’t Sony just release the film in the summer of 2012 instead of scrapping the whole thing?

As to where the reboot will take Peter Parker, Sony tweeted this little nugget of info:

Spider-Man: Summer 2012: Peter Parker is going back to high school when the next Spider-Man hits theaters in the summer of 2012.

Oh dear…

Earlier this week we learned that Gary Ross would be re-writing Venom and may end up directing, however Spider-Man director Sam Raimi recently told Splash Page that at the moment Ross is still hard at work on the script for Spider-Man 4. Raimi also said that pre-production is coming together and they hope to start filming next March.

“We’re hoping that it’s the first week in March,” said Raimi.

At the moment, pre-production is in full swing, even as screenwriter Gary Ross (“great director and a very fine writer,” said Raimi) continues to work on the script.

“He’s working on a draft,” he continued. “I just gave him some notes and he’s doing a rewrite right now.”

On other fronts, “Spider-Man 4″ continues to chug along. “The production is starting to come together,” Raimi told us. “I’ve got a production designer who is starting to design the sets and the environments that the picture will take place in. We just brought aboard Scott Stokdyk as one of the two visual effects supervisors, and I worked with him on all three ‘Spider-man’ pictures.”

With Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst set to reprise their roles, Raimi and his team will soon turn their attention to filling out the rest of the cast. “None of the casting has really taken place, but we’re starting to think about that now,” the director said.

I doubt we will know which villain(s) will be involved until the casting gets under-way in a few weeks/month.

Now is a good time to be a Spider-Man fan with both Spider-Man 4 and Venom in the works. I think Raimi knows what mistakes were made last time round so Spider-Man 4 has the potential to be better than Spider-Man 3.

Sony haven’t got a Spider-Man 4 script worthy of shooting yet, but that hasn’t stopped them from hiring James Vanderbilt to write the scripts for Spider-Man 5 and Spider-Man 6. Vanderbilt wrote the first draft for Spider-Man 4, and then David Lindsay-Abaire was brought on board to do a rewrite, and now Gary Ross doing a rewriting of that.

From Variety:

Raimi didn’t embrace all of Vanderbilt’s ideas, but execs at Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios have. Vanderbilt has been hired to pen the fifth and sixth movies, which have an interconnected storyline. That’s what was originally discussed when Vanderbilt signed on to write “Spider-Man 4,” but the idea of shooting a fourth and fifth film back to back with the original cast was scrapped.

Sources said it was unclear whether Raimi, Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst will be back. If they aren’t, Vanderbilt’s script would be the blueprint for a franchise reboot. After committing to his fourth “Spider-Man” film, Raimi signed on to direct a new franchise based on the massively multiplayer role-playing online computer game “World of Warcraft” for Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Maguire and Dunst were locked into the first three pictures and made a new deal for “Spider-Man 4.” It’s unclear how long they want to continue with the series.

Spider-Man 4 starts filming next year for a May 2011 release, and if it ends up as good as Spider-Man 2 and makes gazillions like the previous films then why the hell not make a Spider-Man 5? However, if 5 is a reboot they’ll have to wait a few years before giving it too us. We accepted Hulk because the first one wasn’t all that, but Spider-Man is a tad more popular and rebooting that universe won’t be as easy.

It was announced that Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi would be back for Spider-Man 4 roughly around the same time, and ever since then there has been a ‘will she, won’t see’ scenario regarding whether Kirsten Dunst would be returning to play Mary Jane. Over the past few months and weeks Raimi has said in a number of interviews that he has spoken to her about it, however now producer Todd Black has confirmed that she will “definitely” be back.

From NYPost:

- Kirsten Dunst is definitely on board. Last month, director Sam Raimi was quoted as saying he didn’t know if the actor was going to sign up to play Mary Jane again, but it appears that she has.

- Contrary to online rumors, it doesn’t look like the script will feature a wedding between Mary Jane and Peter Parker. Black had no knowledge of that subplot.

Mary Jane has been Peter Parker’s girl throughout the trilogy, and it wouldn’t feel right if she were to just disappear so I’m glad Dunst it back.

In other Spidey news Todd Black also says that Morbius the vampire will be not the villain, however he did give us a hint as to who it may be.

“We’re just coming up with who the villain’s going to be now. We’ll be shooting in New York again. Trust me, people will appreciate who we pick, because it’ll be a big part of New York.”

Any ideas? I’d like to see Dylan Baker finally get a meaty role out of Dr. Curt Connors. In the past he’s just popped in and out when convenient to the plot, however next time I hope we get to see him become The Lizard. I wouldn’t mind seeing Black Cat either.

Cinematical recently got the chance to speak to Drag Me to Hell director Sam Raimi, and obviously questions about Spider-Man 4 came up. Raimi spoke mostly about the mistakes he has made with the previous Spider-Man films, and that it is partly because of those mistakes that made him decide to make Spider-Man 4.

As far as Spider-Man, I’ve learned a lot of lessons about what people didn’t like and missteps that I’d made. But I learned those lessons on the previous two, I was just a little quieter about them. I made a lot of mistakes, and it’s part of the reason I so want to make this next story of Peter Parker.”

Raimi continued, “I really think I know in my heart who the character is, and I haven’t quite been able to sing the song yet, or bring it out to the extent or degree of detail that I feel in my heart that I can. And I may not be successful, but I still feel like I know it better than I’m able to play it; I feel like the kid that really practiced at the piano recital, with years of comic books, and when I got to my other recitals, I sometimes made some missteps with them. There’s a whole crowd there and they think that’s as well as I know the piece, but I really do know it a lot better than that and I would like one more chance at that character. The Spider-Man films, I’ve made mistakes, but I really do look at them as things that I’ve learned, and hope that when I apply what I’ve learned to this next one, I really make a film that people enjoy and is really true to the character in a fresh, original way. That’s my goal.”

I enjoyed Spider-Man 3, however there were a couple of issues that stuck out, such as emo Peter Parker, too many villains, and the huge amount of coincidences that took place simply to move the story forward. I have a feeling that if Raimi is left to make the film he wants he could make a great Spider-Man 4.

Sam Raimi also spoke to SplashPage (he’s on the rounds for Drag Me to Hell) and revealed that he has spoken to Kirsten Dunst about her returning:

“Kirsten? I have talked with her, and she’s very excited about the possibility of it,” Raimi revealed, insisting that although Dunst is willing, it will be the director’s call to make after he reads the script by Lindsay-Abaire. “I think I’m going to have to read the screenplay and make sure everything we’ve talked about is working, before I could honestly tell you absolutely how [Dunst’s possible return] would go.”

Last September when asked if she would be back for Spider-Man 4 Kirsten Dunst replied with “I’m in”. However director Sam Raimi recently spoke to MTV and revealed that he is still pursuing her.

“I’m hoping that she is going to come aboard, and I’ve got a meeting coming up with her,” Raimi said. “I think she would like to. But I don’t want to speak on behalf of her.”

He then spoke about where he intends to go with Peter Parker in the film:

“I hope that we just [look] ever deeper into the truth of who Peter Parker really is — as a human being and the unique character, and that we celebrate that, which is a lot of the reason I want to make this next picture,” the director explained. “I still believe I have an understanding of Peter Parker as the character that I have not quite put onto the screen yet.”

I hope Kirsten comes back. I hate re-casts and for her to just not appear in Spider-Man 4 wouldn’t work that well considering how Spider-Man 3 ended.

IGN caught up with Spider-Man director Sam Raimi today at the SXSW Film Festival to discuss his new horror film Drag Me to Hell, and while chatting with the director they slipped in a couple of questions about Spider-Man 4.

According to Raimi, he has yet to decide on the villain for Spider-Man 4, though he has firmer plans for the film’s love interest.

“Right now, I’m working with the production team,” he explained. “I’m in the earliest stages of working with the writer, trying to work out a story.”

He added, “We’re closing in on Spider-Man’s adversary or adversaries… but I think Sony is going to want to release the Spider-Man announcements themselves.”

When asked if Mary Jane Watson or Gwen Stacy would take centre stage in terms of romance, Raimi was a little more forthcoming.

“I’m hoping that Kirsten [Dunst, who plays Mary-Jane] will be in it, but we’re still talking about that,” he revealed. “Definitely, she’s got to be in it. It wouldn’t be the Spider-Man series without her.”

Sony recently announced that we will be seeing Spider-Man 4 in May 2011, so Raimi has at least a year to get everything sorted. I got the feeling they introduced Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man 3 to spice things up a bit. Maybe they could makes things even more interesting by adding a character that could be both a love interest and a villain. *cough* Black Cat *cough*

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony are in final talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire to write Spider-Man 4. Zodiac screenwriter James Vanderbilt has already written the first draft, so whether Lindsay-Abaire will be brought in to do re-writes or to completely start from scratch is unknown.

Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire are back, as are producers Laura Ziskin and Avi Arad. Kirsten Dunst also is expected to return.

No word on story or plot details yet, although I am betting there will be no dancing or emo eyeliner involved.

Spider-Man trilogy director Sam Raimi recently spoke to MTV and gave us an update on where Spider-Man 4 is, who will be back and where they are headed.

On Kirsten Dunst returning:

“Kirsten, I’d love to work with her again,” Raimi explained to us this week, making it sound as if current plans to include Dunst for “Spider-Man 4” and “Spider-Man 5” are still up in the air, despite recent statements that she wants to remain with the franchise. “I hope she’ll be written into it. I couldn’t imagine making one without her, and I think she’s an important part of the movies.”

On when things may get started:

“I’m really excited about Spider-Man, and I’m hoping to direct it,” he cautioned. “I don’t have a script yet, but production would start probably by March of 2010, I’m guessing. It sounds like a long time away, but we need a script first, and a lot of pre-production has to take place.”

On the possibility of filming Spider-Man 4 and 5 back to back:

“It would be a real endurance test, probably only Peter Jackson knows how hard something like that would be,” he marveled, hinting that “4” and “5” would be very closely linked in storyline. “If Tobey and me, and all the producers, like the story for two pictures and wanted to do it, then we would do it. It just hasn’t been written yet.”

And finally, on the possibility of Dylan Baker becoming The Lizard and the next villain:

“He’s a great actor, and I think one day The Lizard’s story will be told,” he teased, referring to Baker’s Curt Connors character. “I don’t know if it will be this one or not. I just don’t know. I’m definitely hoping to work with Dylan in the picture. I just don’t know who the villain is yet.”