Yes People, Spider-Man 4 IS Delayed

Things are not well over in Sony Towers, following on from the rumours last month that Spider-Man 4 had been put on hold (rumours which Sony vehemently denied) it now seems that it has in fact been confirmed that Spider-Man 4 is on hold due to differences between the studio and director Sam Raimi.

The problem has arose because Raimi is hoping to have The Vulture as the film’s primary villain while Sony bigwigs are dead against the choice and are also hoping to crowbar The Black Cat in there for an additional love interest (Gwen Stacey: Spider-Man 3 anyone?). Personally, since we’ve already covered this story, none of this comes as a huge surprise. Yes, Sony denied it back in December, however it seems that THR have now confirmed the rumour and that’s pretty much all there is to it, this from THR:

A succession of writers has tried to marry the two parties’ differing visions to no effect.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire (“Rabbit Hole”) was hired in October 2008 to pen a key version of the screenplay, on top of the earlier version penned by James Vanderbilt (“Zodiac”). Last year, Sony brought in Gary Ross — Oscar-nominated for his adapted script on 2003′s “Seabiscuit” — which he also helmed.

Alvin Sargent is penning the latest iteration.

Production still could begin by this summer. While Sony insiders maintain the pic still could remain in its current release date, a shift to a date later in summer 2011 may be more likely considering the lack of a final script for the visual effects-driven project.

Here’s a suggestion, instead of delaying the project, lets shelve it indefinitely, allow Sony’s rights over the franchise to expire and send Spidey back to Marvel where he’ll get all the TLC he deserves, anyone?

Tags: spider-man 4