After an impressive box office with generally positive reviews,The Amazing Spider-Man turned out to be yet another superhero hit at the box office this year despite being outshined by massive heavyweights The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises. Rebooting Peter Parker as we know him, a sequel had already been in the works when news rose that Marc Webb may not return to direct the second installment due to a previous commitment to Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Things had been looking up when it’s said the studio was willing to come to an agreement with the creative talent, though they were far from official. Now, it seems like we can expect the same vision as Webb will certainly be coming back with an eye on cameras rolling already in sight.
Variety reports that Marc Webb if officially set to return as director for The Amazing Spider-Man 2. After developing the Fox Searchlight film Age of Rage from writer Mark Heyman and a second project The Only Living Boy in New York, it’s said that production on the Spidey sequel will kick off early next year while it’s likely Webb will then transition to either project for Fox Searchlight later in the year.
Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Sally Field are expected to return for the second installment while casting for new characters, such as the villain or possibly even major supporting characters the franchise has seen before, is expected to kick off later this year. Garfield is the only one officially signed, while Stone is still in contract negotiations. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek) were hired in April to rewrite original scribe James Vanderbilt’s script, while their draft is likely already done or in the final stages.
Made for $230 million The Amazing Spider-Man grossed $750 million at the worldwide box office, the lowest of any Spidey film thus far but still the fourth biggest film of 2012 and the 44th highest grossing film of all time. It is the first in a planned trilogy with a home video release planned for November 9th.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is set to be released May 2nd, 2014.
