Spider-Man 4

The fourth entry in the popular Spider-Man series of films is scheduled to be released in 2012. Sony Pictures, which produces the Spider-Man movies as part of a long-standing deal with Marvel Comics, announced in January of 2010 that the newest installment in the superhero franchise represents a "new direction" for the series. Director Sam Raimi and stars Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire will not return for the new film.http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=9535745

And 500 Days of Summer director, Marc Webb will be directing the latest installment]http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/01/marc_webb_new_director_of_spid.html

Allegedly, Raimi reported back to Sony Pictures that he would be unable to meet the planned 2011 release date while maintaining the creative integrity of the project. This has led to rampant speculation about what's next for both the film franchise and the infamous director. Blogs are reporting that the studio plans to reboot the entire franchise by making a film about a high-school age Peter Parker, and that the new film may be shot in 3D. Raimi is also rumored to be mulling over a big-screen adaptation of the popular PC game World of Warcraft.http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/urgent-spider-man-4-scrapped-as-is-raimi-and-cast-out-franchise-reboot-planned/

Maguire played Spider-Man and his alter-ego, Peter Parker, in the series' first three installments, and Kirsten Dunst portrayed Parker's love interest, Mary Jane Watson. It had initially been reported after the success of Spider-Man 3 that both actors would reprise their roles in a 4th and possibly 5th film.Blog: Sony Locks In... (September 5, 2008)

In 2008, when questioned about participating in the upcoming Spider-Man films in an MTV interview, Dunst immediately said "I'm in." She refused "to make the announcement official," but previously stated that the only way she would do more sequels is if Raimi and Maguire worked on them as well.MTV.com: Kirsten Dunst Talks 'Spider-Man 4' (September 29, 2008)

In January of 2010, however, Sony reported that the Spider-Man 4 production had been placed on indefinite hiatus due to script problems (many of them stemming from indecisiveness about the identity of the villain). According to some reports, including one from Nikki Finke's popular Deadline Hollywood blog, director Sam Raimi and Sony could not come to agreement about the villain. Raimi reportedly wanted actor John Malkovich to portray The Vulture while Sony executives disagreed.http://splashpage.mtv.com/2010/01/05/spider-man-4-sources-confirm-release-date-uncertain-script-still-in-progress/