Director Marc Webb may have a way to return to Spider-Man

When last we heard, director Marc Webb was encountering a few obstacles that lay in the way of his return to the Spider-Man franchise – namely, that Fox Searchlight claimed Webb still owed them one movie from a previous deal that had included (500) DAYS OF SUMMER.  He was given “a reprieve” to go and do Spider-Man, but considering both the pre-existing deal and the success of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, Fox Searchlight is itching to get Webb back in its stable. 

And so something not far from a Devil’s Deal, at least these days, has been offered to Webb: he can take the time to jump on a sequel to THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, but in exchange he’ll owe the studio two pictures instead of only one.  As the report states, “most in-demand directors don’t like locking themselves up that long.”

I for one would love for Webb to return to the world he helped build, as I think it was his character/timing sensibilities which largely contributed to the movie being so much fun for me.  But another young voice would have its own advantages as well, especially if the studio were to be able to snag someone such as Rian Johnson.  Picking Webb shows that they were willing to think a bit outside the box once – perhaps they’d do so again.

Whatever happens THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN’s sequel is already penciled in for a May 2014 release date, so Webb is going to have to act fast.