Spider-Man 4 swings into trouble

Just before Christmas it appeared that Spider-Man 4 was slowly building up a head of steam, as rumours circulated as to the identity of the movie's likely villains and the actors who would be playing them. But just a few days into 2010 it seems the production has stalled, with director Sam Raimi's alleged dissatisfaction with the script throwing the scheduled May 2011 release date into doubt.

Everything seemed tickety-boo back on 8 December last year, when the hot rumour was that John Malkovich and Anne Hathaway would be tackling antagonistic guy and gal duties in the fourth filmic instalment of the Marvel wall-crawler's adventures – filling the respective father-daughter roles of the Vulture and the Vulturess. What foul feathery fiendishness we imagined them cooking up! Yes we did.

So with script and actors apparently in place, and Sam Raimi reinvigorated following the lacklustre reception of Spider-Man 3 by the praise lavished upon his Drag Me to Hell, it looked as if there was no bar to Peter Parker meeting his latest proposed cinematic release date of 5 May 2011 (two weeks before Marvel compatriot Thor is due to arrive in movie-houses).

However it seems all was not well behind the scenes even at that juncture, with Deadline.com having just revealed an email which was sent out to the Spider-Man 4 effects unit on 11 December, advising them that, 'We will NOT be starting as planned.'

The email continues: 'We do not know how long we are pushing, and we will not know until mid-January. By mid-January, we will be told how long the push is, whether it be 2 weeks, 2 months, or something else. The studio (Sony) has every intention of making the movie, but we no longer have a confirmed start date.' The reason for this delay is given as follows: 'Sam Raimi has story issues [that] need to be resolved before we are ready to shoot.'

Spider-Man 4 has already chewed up and spat out a host of big-name screenwriters, with James Vanderbilt (Zodiac), David Lindsay-Abaire (Pulitzer Prize winner for his play Rabbit Hole), and Gary Ross (Pleasantville) all having delivered drafts – none of which seem to have been of sufficient quality to satisfy Raimi. Consequently it has now fallen to scribe Alvin Sargent to try and resolve the whole webby mess. Sargent contributed to the second and third Spider-Man films, and is also the husband of series producer Laura Ziskind (though his two Oscar wins probably KO any potential accusations of nepotism). But however Sargent's script goes down with Raimi and the Sony top brass, it seems major delays are looming, with Deadline quoting an unnamed studio insider as remarking that “it is unlikely that [the 5 May 2011 release date] will be made.”

Another email seen by Deadline underlines the current hold-ups. 'Some decisions have been made over the holiday about Spider-Man 4. We will be extending the production hiatus on the film. The studio is firmly committed to this franchise but, for us, the script must come first.' Which, in its own way, is really rather encouraging. The temptation is always to view any production headaches as an indicator of rotten foundations, yet surely it can only be a good thing when a director is ready to take the time to deliver the best possible story? Instead of simply bludgeoning forth like a drug-crazed snuffleupagus and working from a screenplay that was written on napkins in the cab on the way to the shoot. In spite of the delays though, the suggestion is that Sony are as reluctant to relinquish their summer 2011 release date as a hobo is to relinquish his small bag of stuff; even if that means that Spider-Man 4 does not open till July of that year.

Speculation has mounted that the success of Avatar (which, as of today, has grossed more money than actually exists in the world) will further stall Spider-Man 4, as studios scrabble about like rats on a sinking ship fighting over the last ratty life-jacket in order to make sure all their forthcoming blockbusters are shot in 3D. Back at the start of December, Worst Previews reported on the possibility of a three-dimensional Spider-Man 4, noting that 'Sony has decided against making the film in 3D. It will still be in IMAX though.' Chances are that one look at the Avatar box-office figures consigned that decision to the dustbin of history.

Further rumours have also emerged in terms of casting, with Malkovich still reportedly in line to have the opportunity to dress up in a big green bird suit. Anne Hathaway now seems less likely to feature, due to a hefty salary that Sony cannot afford to pay because they have spent far too much on Avatar tickets.