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Cameron and Pattinson lined up for Spider-Man 3D
The Twilight star could be directed by the Avatar director in a reboot of the Spider-Man franchise
The British actor Robert Pattinson could be the next Spider-Man - and Avatar's James Cameron could direct the Twilight star in a reboot of the superhero franchise.
Following the collapse of Spider-Man 4 and the departure of director Sam Raimi and lead actors Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, Hollywood is rife with speculation about the identity of the new team.
The reboot, scripted by Zodiac writer James Vanderbilt, will return to Peter Parker's high school days. The tactic is not exactly groundbreaking, having been employed successfully back in 2001 by Warner Bros with DC Comics' Superman in the TV series Smallville. And of course we've already seen Spidey at school - in Sam Raimi's original Spider-Man back in 2002.
The back-to-school angle has seen Hollywood gossip-mongers installing teen favourite Robert Pattinson as the frontrunner to take over as Parker from Tobey Maguire, although Michael Cera, who has nailed the part of awkward teenager twice - in Juno and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - is considered another possibility.
Sony has pencilled in a summer 2012 release for the new film, which would pit it against the sequel to director JJ Abrams's own reboot - that of Star Trek. The long lead-time is apparently down to the fact that Sony is considering filming the Spider-Man prequel in 3D - a possibility made more likely by the fact that Abrams is also reportedly considering filming Star Trek XII in 3D.
Directors in the frame to succeed Sam Raimi include James Cameron, David Fincher and the aptly named Marc Webb. According to respected Hollywood journalist Nikki Finke's blog, Marc Webb, the director of (500) Days of Summer, has met Sony executives and is considered a shrewd choice for his ability to depict the way young people think.
Of course, if action sequences are considered more important - and this is after all a blockbuster film - James Cameron is the obvious choice. He also has the built-in advantage of his experience with 3D, after his success with Avatar.
As for Fincher, he has worked with scriptwriter Vanderbilt before, in serial killer thriller Zodiac, but he has to be considered an outsider. Last year he recalled being asked to direct the first Spider-Man movie: "I wasn't interested in the genesis," he said. "I just couldn't shoot somebody being bitten by a radioactive spider. I just couldn't sleep knowing I'd done that." ·
