"Zodiac" scribe to write "Spidey 4"

By Borys Kit

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The writer of the serial-killer thriller "Zodiac" has been hired to write the screenplay for "Spider-Man 4."

James Vanderbilt takes over from David Koepp, who worked on the first two installments of Columbia Pictures' billion-dollar franchise, and returned to write a draft of "Spider-Man 4."

No deals have been made to bring back series director Sam Raimi or stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst.

Plot points are being closely guarded by the studio, though the intent is to scale back the story to include only two villains instead of repeating the "Spider-Man 3" model. The third installment, which grossed $336.5 million domestically this year, saw Spidey battle a busy triumvirate of evildoers in the forms of Venom, Sandman and Goblin. It was widely reckoned as overly cumbersome with one too many plot lines.

Several writers were being considered for the fourth installment, and Vanderbilt apparently was chosen for his character-driven approach to the story rather than a focus on special effects.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter