Production on the fourth Spider-Man movie has ground to a halt because, claims The Hollywood Reporter , Sony and Sam Raimi don't see eye-to-eye over the script, and, in particular, the villains.
Apparently, Raimi wants to use the Vulture act as the big bad guy, but Sony is baulking at the idea of a winged villain (hmmm… maybe they weren't too impressed with the angels in Legion?). Instead the studio is pushing for the female cat burglar Black Cat (who in the comics becomes romantically involved with Spider-Man) in addition to another villain.
The impasse has prompted the studio to delay its scheduled spring production start while yet another writer, Alvin Sargent, attempts to craft a script that keeps everybody happy.
Maybe Sony should have learnt its lesson, after forcing Raimi against his better judgement to use Venom in the generally reviled Spider-Man 3. Then again, while fans and critics were unimpressed, the third Spidey film did make $892 million worldwide, which was more than either of the first two (amazing as it may seem), so the suits certainly have the numbers to back up their argument. Sadly.
