According to two sources, the next Spider-Man movie is taking shape, and most of the principals are onboard.
Last May, we first reported that Sony/Columbia might shoot Spider-Man 4. Now, Entertainment Weekly and Deadline Hollywood Daily say that director Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire have signed contracts for Spider-Man 4, which the studio is planning on releasing May 2011.
They add that there's no deal yet for Kirsten Dunst, and with rumors that the studio may play up the Gwen Stacy character, we might finally see the last of Mary Jane Watson.
As for the villain, we might finally see "The Lizard," who's alter ego Dr. Curt Connors has appeared in the movies since day 1, but the report did not confirm this speculation.
According to DHD, "the studio is trying to figure out if it can feasibly shoot Spider-Man 4 and 5 at the same time because doing that is so cost effective and 'it wasn't so easy to get everybody back together.'"
DHD also says that Sony has hired two screenwriters to pen the new script for the Spidey spin-off Venom.