We’re hoping that it’s the first week in March,

At the moment, pre-production is in full swing, even as screenwriter Gary Ross continues to work on the script.

He’s working on a draft, I just gave him some notes and he’s doing a rewrite right now.

The production is starting to come together. I’ve got a production designer who is starting to design the sets and the environments that the picture will take place in. We just brought aboard Scott Stokdyk as one of the two visual effects supervisors, and I worked with him on all three ‘Spider-man’ pictures.

None of the casting has really taken place, but we’re starting to think about that now.

“The last two ‘Spider-Man’ releases have been available in IMAX theaters, and we’re very much looking forward to our return to a wider IMAX theatre network with this exciting new chapter in the continuing adventures of Spider-Man,” said Rory Bruer, President, Worldwide Distribution for Sony Pictures Releasing. “The addition of so many new IMAX locations will give even more fans of Spider-Man an opportunity to experience the action and adventure in a unique way.”

“‘Spider-Man’ continues to be one of the world’s most popular motion picture franchises, and we are very excited to include the latest chapter as part of our 2011 slate,” said IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond. “Our network has grown significantly and we continue to roll-out new theatres virtually every week, giving more moviegoers the opportunity to experience the movie in IMAX.”

“We’re so excited to once again work with our friends at Columbia Pictures, Sony and Marvel to bring this beloved superhero back to IMAX theatres,” said Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment. “The ‘Spider-Man’ franchise has been so important to the growth of our network and fan base over the years and we’re certainly looking forward to re-teaming with the entire cast and production team to bring this next chapter to moviegoers worldwide.”

The actor, who has a long relationship with director Sam Raimi via his lead role in the “Evil Dead” trilogy, made memorable cameos in the first three “Spider-Man” films.

However, he may have a bigger role this time around. Bruce told Access that in the next installment in the superhero franchise, he’s been told he has a major part – but didn’t yet know anything about his character

Astute fans will know, in the first Spider-man movie, the carjacker is chased into a warehouse where he trips and falls to his death. How then, does this character reappear in Spider-man 4?

Maybe he survived and is now a villain? Maybe there’s a flashback?

Black confirmed that Kirsten Dunst shall be onboard for the fourth Spider-man movie, although rumors of a wedding between Mary Jane and Peter Parker were shrugged off. As for the villain, Black denied the Morbius vampire rumors that Raimi has thrown at us. As for comments on a villain, he/she shall be New York based, to quote:

We’re just coming up with who the villain’s going to be now. We’ll be shooting in New York again. Trust me, people will appreciate who we pick, because it’ll be a big part of New York.

Spider-man 4 poster

Spider-man 4 poster tidied up

“I learn lessons on every single picture I make,” he said. “I learned a lot on [Drag Me To Hell], about timing, and that you don’t have to give up any character at the expense of horror. It’s just an excuse that maybe I’ve used in the past. As far as Spider-Man, I’ve learned a lot of lessons about what people didn’t like and missteps that I’d made. But I learned those lessons on the previous two, I was just a little quieter about them. I made a lot of mistakes, and it’s part of the reason I so want to make this next story of Peter Parker.”

Raimi continued, “I really think I know in my heart who the character is, and I haven’t quite been able to sing the song yet, or bring it out to the extent or degree of detail that I feel in my heart that I can. And I may not be successful, but I still feel like I know it better than I’m able to play it; I feel like the kid that really practiced at the piano recital, with years of comic books, and when I got to my other recitals, I sometimes made some missteps with them. There’s a whole crowd there and they think that’s as well as I know the piece, but I really do know it a lot better than that and I would like one more chance at that character. The Spider-Man films, I’ve made mistakes, but I really do look at them as things that I’ve learned, and hope that when I apply what I’ve learned to this next one, I really make a film that people enjoy and is really true to the character in a fresh, original way. That’s my goal.”

What about for live action movies?
Pascal: I think James Cameron’s new movie [Avatar] could change the world. I think everyone is in anticipation thinking it’s going to be like Star Wars. It’s going to change the way you consume entertainment. I don’t know that it will ever be the way you see dramas, but I can’t say anymore that it won’t be.

Are you considering doing any live action movies in 3-D? What about Spider-Man 4?
Pascal: Could be.
Lynton: People are paying a premium to see movies in 3-D and that’s a very big deal. It’s never been done before that someone says you have to pay more to see Spider-Man than a romantic comedy.

“I’m hoping that she is going to come aboard, and I’ve got a meeting coming up with her,” Raimi said in a group interview last week in Beverly Hills, Calif., where he was promoting his upcoming horror film Drag Me to Hell. “I think she would like to. But I don’t want to speak on behalf of her.”

With the advent of The Dark Knight and Watchmen, do you expect that Spider-Man 4 will be a little darker and edgier, too?

Raimi: Whatever it is, I think will be a direct result of the best style to bring about our writer’s screenplay. And as soon as I read that, I will know what that is. Edgy could be a direction, but I don’t think it will be applied without really understanding the character’s journey from the inside out first and then figuring out the best way to bring that about.

And then, as far as the other influences, making it different from the other films, … I hope we don’t react to these very good and sometimes bad superhero movies around us. I hope that we just [look] ever deeper into the truth of who Peter Parker really is—as a human being and the unique character, and that we celebrate that, which is a lot of the reason I want to make this next picture. I still believe I have an understanding of Peter Parker as the character that I have not quite put onto the screen yet.

I’m not talking about Tobey Maguire’s performance, which I very much love; I’m talking about my understanding of the character. I feel like sometimes a kid at the piano recital. And I know this piece really well. I know it by heart. And I sometimes get it right, and sometimes I don’t. But I want a chance to really play it the way I feel it. So I’m hoping it’s a really good screenplay and I can express the character through that. I’ve got a really good writer [David Lindsay-Abaire]. …

“We have to make the release date, and on all of these pictures, the ‘Spider-Man’ films–and I’m sure it’s the same as with many of the other bigger-budgeted films–they have release dates far in advance of a screenplay/ […] So it’s about getting it ready the best you can in time for the first day of production. That’s what we’ve always done, and that’s what we’ll try to do again.”

“I’m not at liberty to discuss the villains yet. […] I think I have to wait till the finished screenplay, and then it’d really be up to Sony Pictures and the producers to determine when they want to release that information. To them, it’s usually a big, a big, big thing, a big moment where they want to present the villain with the proper respect or fear that he or she deserves.”

Raimi has also spoken out about the creative power he would like to wield for the next movie. This comes after the third movie whereby presumably the studio took over some of the creative decisions (is that perhaps what lead to the crazy dancing Peter Parker scene?), via Empire:

“They really gave me a tremendous amount of control on the first two films, actually. […] But then there were different opinions on the third film and I didn’t really have creative control, so to speak.

The best way for me to move forward on films, is that I’ve got to be the singular voice that makes the creative choices on the film. I love Spider-Man so much that I’d like to continue telling Spider-Man stories. But only under those circumstances where I think I can honour him.”