Columbia Pictures has pulled the plug on Spider Man 4 and will instead make a younger, cheaper installment of the superhero franchise without star Tobey Maguire and helmer Sam Raimi, who were both set for big paydays.
Last week, Columbia confirmed that Spider Man 4, which was scheduled to begin lensing in February and be released in 2011, was on hold indefinitely due to script problems. Columbia needs to continue actively developing Spider Man films or else the property will revert back to Disney/Marvel.
The new untitled Spider Man film will center on the webslinging teen as he grapples with both contemporary human problems and amazing super-human crises. It is set to bow theatrically in summer 2012.