Spider-Man 4, 5 & Venom Updates

It is being reported by The Hollywood Reporter that both actor Tobey Maguire and director Sam Raimi are very close to signing on with Sony’s Spider-Man 4 and 5. Reports have indicated that the next two movies will be filmed together in the fall 2009 in order to keep costs down. The same thing was done with the “Lord of the Rings” movies which were filmed back-to-back in just 274 days.

Laura Ziskin and Avi Arad will be producing and the screenplay will be written by Jamie Vanderbilt ("Zodiac"). Spider-Man 4 is aiming for a 2011 release. No word yet on what villains will debut in this movie or if Kirsten Dunst will be reprising her role as Mary Jane Watson.

In related news, it is also being reported that Sony has picked up the pace with their progress of the Spider-Man spin-off movie, Venom. Writer Jacob Estes has been selected to draft a script while also bringing on board scribes Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, who penned "Zombieland" for the studio.

No word if actor Topher Grace who played Venom in "Spider-Man 3" will reprise his role for this movie or if they will look to new talent to take on the part. Many critics of Spider-Man 3 have voiced their desire to see someone bigger and more buff to take on the role so he would be more menacing as he appears in the comics.