Columbia Pictures begin talks about the next installment of the movie franchise but some issues remain.
According to Michael Fleming at Variety.
Shortly after getting their first look at “Spider-Man 3,” Columbia Pictures execs have begun negotiating with David Koepp to pen the script for a fourth installment of the franchise.
Koepp, who most recently wrote the draft of a fourth “Indiana Jones” project that got George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford to reteam for Paramount, scripted the 2002 Spidey film that launched the studio’s most lucrative franchise.
Alvin Sargent scripted the second and third installments; all the pictures in the Marvel Comics franchise were directed by Sam Raimi.
"Spider-Man 3” bows on May 4, with Thomas Haden Church playing Sandman and Topher Grace as Venom.
Columbia is just beginning the process of development on the fourth Spidey picture, a pricey exercise since new deals will have to be made with Tobey Maguire, Kirstin Dunst and James Franco, along with Raimi if he decides to return to direct a fourth film.
The studio would release the picture in 2009 or 2010.
The first two movies had a combined worldwide gross north of $1 billion.