Spider-Man Movie Franchise Set To Re-Boot And Raimi & Maguire Are Out

Well the Spider-Man soap opera apparently has taken another turn, for some maybe for the better. According to a report over at Variety, Columbia Pictures has decided to wash its hands of director Sam Raimi and Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire and start over with a reboot of the Spider-Man franchise.

A new script has already been penned by James Vanderbilt which tells the tale of a teenage Peter Parker and is ready to shoot even though there is no director or star for the new movie at this time.

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. Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin are producing.

All this seems to stem from disagreement between the director and the studio on what direction this next Spider-Man movie should take and what villian(s) it should feature. There also seems to be some concern over salary demands a rising star like Tobey Maguire might command, and in the end it would likely cost the studio, who has a mandate of not giving away more than 25% of the gross, far less to start over with a fresh face.

Where this puts other rumored cast member of the next Spider-Man movie such as John Malkovich is unknown at this time, but I'm sure it is only a matter of time until more rumors start to spread.

So what do you think? Was removing Raimi and Maguire a smart movie by the studio or not?