Well, that was fast. While it’s not unusual for sequel talk to surround franchises before they’re released, it is pretty unheard of them to get dated, but Sony believes they have a winner on their hands as they’ve gone ahead and slated “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” for a May 2, 2014 release. That’s less than two years after “The Amazing Spider-Man” hits next summer.
While the news comes as a bit of a shocker this afternoon, perhaps we should have seen the webbing on the wall (ha!). You may have forgotten but back in the spring, James Vanderbilt (“Zodiac“) was hired back to write the sequel and we presume studio honchos are pretty thrilled with the direction he’s taking with the material. While Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone are certain to be back (looks like their 2013 is booked), it’s not yet known if Marc Webb will return to helm the second installment. Sam Raimi saw nearly a decade of his life eaten up with Peter Parker, and this will only be Webb’s second film. He’s got time to make up his mind, but if there’s other movies and stories he wants to tell (he’s got a few non-comic films developing including “Age of Rage” announced earlier this year), we could see the reins being handed off. But if the film is a big hit — which it should be — you can bet the studio and fans will want Webb back. And you know what else this means? Sequel speculation on characters and storylines for at least the next two years. Ugh.
So consider this the first tentpole stake of 2014 with more to come. “The Amazing Spider-Man” hits theaters on July 3, 2012.
