spider-man 4 Tagged Articles at Cinematical

So here's some "less is more" comic book flick news* that may make you feel a little better about Spider-Man 4: Apparently A) there will be only one villain, which would be great, and B) that villain will (finally!) be Curt Connors aka The Lizard. And here's the best part: We don't have to wait for some gimmicky casting ploy, because the franchise already has the excellent Dylan Baker playing the role! Yes, Peter Parker's one-armed college professor will, after waiting patiently through three villain-packed films, get to shed his humanity and terrorize our favorite web-slinger with cold-blooded reptility. (Reptileness?)

Both MarketSaw and Collider have more information, but of course details are very sketchy at this early point. If these early reports are true, I offer a back-pat to Sam Raimi and his writing / producing team for trying to scale the next sequel back a bit, instead of trying to wedge six baddies into the flick just to sell a few extra Happy Meals. It's safe to assume that Mr. Raimi considers Spider-Man 3 the weakest of the series, and if the new goal is to simply deliver an old-school mano e mano face-off between a man-spider and a man-lizard, well I'm just fine with that.

Odds are you'll see more Spider-Man 4 news at this very website as it becomes available.

*MarketSaw.com seems pretty confident that their source is accurate on this information, but of course we should take it all with a grain of salt until we get word from someone on the production team, and on the record.

There are some big casting rumors circling two big #4 features in the works:

Will Dylan Baker finally have a chance to play the Lizard in Spider-Man 4? Looks that way, as during a Q&A for the new horror flick Trick 'R Treat in New York City the other night, Baker said that he'd just gotten a call regarding Spider-Man 4 and that he's definitely onboard for the fourth installment. Of course, considering the fact that Baker played the unassuming Dr. Curt Connors in Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3, there's a chance he'll be playing the same boring, no-nothing role for a third time. But since this will most likely be the last film for Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst -- thereby making it the last film within this particular Spider-Man universe -- then I can't see why they wouldn't finally move forward with Baker as the Lizard.

Read the rest over at SciFi Squad
Then hit the jump for Mad Max news...

I can't wait for the day when Spider-Man 4 leaves the world of speculation, and moves before the camera. Until that day, we can enjoy plenty of rumors and hints as to who or what Spidey will be battling in #4.

Sam Raimi recently gave a few more riddles to the MTV Splash Page, revealing that they still don't have a villain for Spider-Man 4. While Raimi "loves" the story of the Lizard, the Spider-Man team isn't exactly looking to tie up those little mentions of Dr. Curt Connors. Instead, look for a baddie who will toy with Peter's internal and external demons a little bit: "What we're trying to do right now is really understand the journey Peter is going to go on this time and have the villain maybe be a counter to that growth, something that he has to overcome. Or maybe he has to grow in a way to overcome the villain, because there always seem to be stories of coming of age, of a young man growing up and learning things about life, so once we are identifying the exact movement that Peter has to grow to, I think the villain-and we're trying this right now; we're trying to choose a villain based on who would be the proper counter to that growth, so we really have dramatic conflict."

With several drafts and screenwriters behind them, and Spider-Man 4 set to go before cameras in March or April, I'm honestly surprised they still don't have a villain in mind. Naturally, Raimi might be exaggerating and they are working with one (there's a coy "I can't say" at the beginning), but I find its sketchiness a bit troubling. What about you, Cinematical readers and Spidey fans?And does Raimi's latest riddle give you any indication of who the villain might be?

Looks like Columbia Pictures is still interested in moving forward with a Venom spin-off movie, as Variety reports that Gary Ross (Seabiscuit, Pleasantville) is in talks to rewrite and direct the movie. Ross, for those not aware, was the one the studio hired to re-write the latest draft of Spider-Man 4, due to begin production early next year with Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire and Kristen Dunst all back for another (their last?) go-round.

Apparently the studio was so happy with the work Ross did on Spidey that they're now interested in having the guy rewrite and direct Venom, which we assume will follow the trials and tribulations of that black gooey alien entity that, when applied to a human's skin, turns them into either a vicious and violent monster or a fan of all things emo (or both!). The fact that Ross will be working on both Spidey 4 and Venom leads me to believe there might be some cross-over between the two, as that's all the rage right now and studios know how excited fans get when a character shows up in a movie he's not supposed to be in.

Read the rest over at SciFi Squad

Now you can mark your calenders, and make a note to pre-buy your IMAX tickets for two of the most highly anticipated geek movies of 2010 and 2011. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tron: Legacy is getting an IMAX release to coincide with its ordinary theatrical print on December 17, 2010. The film was not actually shot for the IMAX format, but Disney will be digitally remastering the film in order to produce a super-sized version for IMAX theaters. Someone with more technical knowledge will have to tell me if that's a good or bad way to release a film in IMAX, because I'm baffled beyond "Wow, look how big the screen is!" I'm honestly surprised Tron: Legacy wasn't shot with IMAX cameras because if there ever was a film begging to use the technology to the fullest extent, it's this one.

Spider-Man 4 also has its IMAX dates booked. It's set to go wide in IMAX and conventional multiplexes on May 6, 2011. This has been standard for Spidey, as all three films have been released onto IMAX screens. The official press release didn't mention whether the fourth will actually be shot using IMAX cameras, but the general belief online is that it won't.

Presumably by 2011, real IMAX screens (as opposed to those faux imitations) will be more readily available so that more moviegoers can benefit from the experience. It would be even better if the price came down a bit. Maybe I'm just a cheapskate (probably) but it's hard to justify an IMAX Experience for every genre movie, and I'm not sure I see that changing for a lot of people by 2011.

Given the long and fruitful friendship of Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell, it should really come as no surprise that Campbell is going to be in Spider-Man 4. What could be surprising is how much screen time he might earn this time around.

Campbell told Access Hollywood that Spider-Man 4 is set to begin shooting January 2010, and that he's been told by Raimi that he has "a major part. The kicker is that the well-chinned actor knows not what that role might be. Access Hollywood immediately began speculating that he'll be stepping into the villain's shoes, and says fans are touting him for Mysterio. But hey, in our own comments we currently have one vote for Campbell as Mysterio and one for him as Lizard, so I'm going to borrow their investigative technique and say that fan consensus is divided.

As Slashfilm notes, "a major part" could simply mean that Campbell's recurring cameo could throw another kink into Peter Parker's life. As Spidey and Campbell fans know, every time he's appeared in the series he's done something to nudge the superhero into his destiny, and it could be that he does something very drastic to Parker's life. Perhaps he's Mephisto and he'll pull a One More Day, reverse the entire franchise series, and that's how we'll get our reboot.

The Spider-Man franchise might just be heading down the road for a divorce from Sam Raimi and all his players, if I'm interpreting Variety and its sources right. Sony has "quietly" hired screenwriter James Vanderbilt to pen the fifth and sixth installments of the web-slinger franchise. Nothing wrong with that at all, of course. Vanderbilt has good work to his name, and a superhero franchise could do a lot worse than hiring the Zodiac screenwriter. However, Raimi didn't care for Vanderbilt's take and replaced him with David Lindsay-Abaire. He's currently having Gary Ross rewrite that script. However, Sony / Columbia and Marvel Studios loved Vanderbilt's ideas, in part because they form a big, interconnected storyline. (I can see Marvel all over that, can't you?) In fact, that was the original plan for Spidey films 4 and 5 which were to be shot back to back, but the idea was scrapped.

But here's where things could get really ugly. Raimi, Tobey Maguire, and Kirsten Dunst are reportedly not signed to installments 5 and 6, and with Raimi boarding World of Warcraft, the studio is even more uncertain that he'll return. So Vanderbilt's scripts are being eyed not as sequels but as a blueprint for a franchise "reboot." Obviously, there's no further details on what that would mean beyond a new cast and crew.

But Sony is that anxious for more Spider-Man, and they feel the franchise is moving too slowly. Now, I'm sure a lot of fans feel the same way, but at what cost do we want more Spider-Man? I'm cool with them bringing another director on board, as it could breathe some fresh life into the series, but new actors? If Spidey was a character that had numerous incarnations, that'd be one thing, but he's only ever been Peter Parker, and Parker and Maguire are one and the same in my mind. This is going to be one web that'll be very interesting (and possibly very disappointing) to see Sony weave ...

With Sam Raimi dragging everyone to hell this past week, Spider-Man 4 rumors are flying as fast and furious as its webby hero. The New York Post caught up with Sony producer Todd Black to pump him for info, and here's what he had to confirm and deny.

Black says Kirsten Dunst is returning as Mary Jane, which may quash all that undecided talk that has plagued the film since it was first announced. However, there are no plans to unite Peter and Mary Jane in holy matrimony. All rumors of Morbius being the villain are false, but it will be someone from the Spidey comics, and Black drops a very slight hint as to who it could 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."

The villain that hint really points to is Kingpin, but he was in Daredevil which suggests Fox has the rights to that particular villain. (Are there crossover claims? I honestly have no idea.) There are a lot of similar mobsters to pick from, but would they resist the temptation for a supervillain and go all real-world? As for other NY based villains, could it be Wraith? He was a NYPD patrolman, and has a tragic origin story that would be pretty ideal. Two weaker suggestions would be Jackal, who was an Empire State University professor, but as they didn't kill Gwen Stacy, I don't know how they would work him in. I think Hydro-Man lives in the Hudson, but that skirts too close to Sandman. Argh, I'm no good at this guessing game. I'll hand it over to you Spidey fans and go enjoy the weekend.

Alright, let's get the Twilight out of the way first. Entertainment Weekly has a couple of new images from the set of New Moon, and if anything, I suppose it's small solace that director Chris Weitz looks like he has this shoot on schedule for a November 20th release. For those of us who didn't know, this sequel concerns Bella (Kristen Stewart) and her divided love for both vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson - SQUEE!) and werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner). Maybe Kate Beckinsale should give her some advice on how to handle this...

Now, in somewhat related news, the rumor du jour as to which villain will play a part in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4 has turned to Morbius, the well-meaning scientist (natch) who unwittingly transforms himself into a psuedo-vampire (no, thank you, Wikipedia!). The notorious showman plays coy when asked in this FearNET interview (that's hosted on... CHUD?), but then goes on about the appeal of vampires in a way that doesn't rule the possibility out...

Spider-Man 4 is scheduled for a 2011 bow, so let me use this as yet another opportunity to nudge you to support Raimi's very fun Drag Me to Hell this weekend.