Sony Says Tobey Maguire Is Still Spider-Man...For Now

Two days ago, we delved into rumors that the next Peter Parker could be played by the Macguire-esque Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous, Wristcutters) or the younger, spunkish Michael Angarano (Sky High). Well, Sony wants to put some Internet skywriting out there and fast. Their message is: "Tobey Maguire you're the best, you're our Spider-Man!...right?" Sony's head of media relations tells IESB...

"No one is being considered for the role but Tobey. Period."

IESB adds that numerous inside sources and agencies have confirmed that no actor in Hollywood or Bollywood has been contacted for Peter Parker. Prior to this, CHUD caught word from a producer on Fugit's latest film who said the rumor was totally bunk. Let's all electric slide back to square one, okay?

This premature casting drama went supernova because a higher-up at Marvel speculated that Sony will have Spider-Man 4 in theaters in 2010, which supported rumors that Sony wants to shoot Spider-Man 4 and Spider-Man 5 back-to-back. Whatever Sony says, there is movement happening with the franchise, so a little interwebs madness is expected, healthier than eating bacon even.

I don't think Fugit would be (have been) an unwise choice, he's talented, but he shares Macguire's sleepy, melancholy style to a fault. Peter wonders why Shia Labeouf is not in the mix—he's probably my first choice for Parker, and I really hope they bring in a new director as well. What's interesting is that the fan outrage at these Macguire replacement rumors is not really there, which is odd. And fanboy hindsight on Spider-Man 3 seems to grow dimmer as time passes. More on the next Spidey flick(s) as it develops.

Discuss: Will Tobey Maguire be back you think? Do you think the word is out to other actors? Ideally, what do you want to see happen?