Deadline Hollywood Daily (http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com) is reporting that despite director Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire's less than enthusiastic desire to devote more years to the "Spider-Man" franchise, Sony/Columbia has locked both Raimi and Maguire for James Vanderbilt's script for "Spider-Man 4" and "Spider-Man 5." Reportedly there is no deal yet for Kirsten Dunst but you can expect the studio to lock one in soon.

Shooting for "Spider-Man 4" is expected to take place in the fall of 2009. While it hasn't been revealed which character will be coming back, Nikki Finke reports that "once you find out who the villain is, you'll know who's playing it." This leads to speculation that we will see someone who has already played a character in the films, such as Dylan Baker as Dr. Curt Connors (who in the comics, becomes The Lizard).

The studio is also reportedly working on getting "Spider-Man 4" and "Spider-Man 5" filmed back to back, reportedly due to Vanderbilt's strong script and a way to keep the actors attached to the franchise as long as possible.