'The Amazing Spider-Man' sequel release date confirmed

The release date of the sequel to next year's Andrew Garfield-starring Spider-Man reboot has already been announced by studio Columbia Pictures. The follow up to the The Amazing Spider-Man will open on May 2, 2014, traditionally seen as the beginning of the summer box office season.

...writing team Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci to work the screenplay for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ...

'Amazing Spider-Man' Director Marc Webb Pitches Sequel Villain: 'The Mime'

After reimagining Spider-Man's mythology with this summer's The Amazing Spider-Man, Marc Webb tells The Hollywood Reporter that he's interested in further departing from canon -- going as far as creating a totally new adversary for the web-slinger.

“I do think it would be tricky to totally invent a major villain, but if I did that it would be The Mime,” he said Friday in a telephone interview. “My big contribution would be a villain called The Mime. That’s a joke, by the way. A joke.”

Insisting (again) that he was kidding, Webb says the character’s history is so rich with foes that whoever directs a sequel will have plenty of interesting ones to choose from. “I think you have to be pretty protective of the canon when it comes to villains,” he observes. “And Spider-Man has a great rogues gallery, so there’s a lot to choose from.”

Meanwhile, Webb says he feels like the combination of proven story points and new ideas will allow a sequel to depart from iterations of the hero that audiences saw previously. “I wanted to create a universe that works in and of itself for one movie, but I wanted to create a universe that not only can withstand but anticipate future storylines,” he says.

“Movies like this tend to have sequels, [though] ultimately the audience will tell us if they want one. But I kind of thought it was an interesting thing to anticipate those storylines and think about the backstories and how we can parlay those into an ongoing story.”

Webb also says he derived his approach to the film from the one employed by artists and writers to the comic book itself. “That’s something I love about the comics -- the serialized nature of them,” he says. “And then certain storylines we’ll pick up and characters that we’ll expand upon, but it’s all part of the mythology that we spent a lot of time developing early on.

“I think there’s obligations to canon that were fun to explore, but the future is bright,” he says. “I think there’s a lot of possibility there.”

Two sequels to 'The Amazing Spider-Man' confirmed

The Amazing Spider-Man will be the first film in a trilogy, it has been confirmed.

A post on the film's Facebook page announced: "It's finally here! The Amazing Spider-Man is the first instalment in a movie trilogy that will explore how our fave hero's journey was shaped by the disappearance of his parents."

A second film had already been scheduled, but this is the first time that The Amazing Spider-Man has been spoken of as a trilogy. Earlier this week (July 3), director Marc Webb revealed that he made the film with ideas for future instalments in mind. "Movies like this tend to have sequels, [though] ultimately the audience will tell us if they want one. But I kind of thought it was an interesting thing to anticipate those storylines and think about the backstories and how we can parlay those into an ongoing story," he said at the time.

After a lengthy promotional campaign, The Amazing Spider-Man finally opened in the UK and US on Tuesday (July 3). The film is believed to have broken a US box office for a Tuesday release after taking $35 million (£22 million) on its first day in cinemas.

The film's star, Andrew Garfield, has previously revealed that he is keen to reprise his role as Peter Parker in future films. At the end of last month (June 29), he confirmed that the second Spider-Man film has already been given a release date of May 2014. However, he also admitted that the script has yet to be written.

Emma Stone wants her 'Spider-Man' character Gwen Stacy to die

Emma Stone has admitted that she wants her Spider-Man character to die so that the movies stay true to the comic books.

Stone appears as love interest Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man, a successful reboot of the franchise starring Andrew Garfield - now her real-life boyfriend - that was released in July (2012). The film has grossed more than $704 million (£445 million) worldwide and two sequels have been confirmed.

Both Garfield and Stone are expected to reprise their roles in the next Spider-Man movie, which has a scheduled release date of May 2, 2014. Discussing her character's future in the franchise, Stone admitted that fans often ask "whether or not the films are going to stay true to her story - which I'm hoping they are".

She explained: "Essentially the argument is that Spider-Man kills her by accident. So the person she loves is the person who kills her, which is the most horrifying thing. Apparently people unsubscribed to the comic book when that happened because they were just so flipped out over it. But, of course, I want to stay true to that."

Speaking at the end of June, Andrew Garfield admitted that the sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man had "no script" despite already having a release date. Director Marc Webb has admitted that he wants to shoot the follow-up, but his return has yet to be confirmed.

Andrew Garfield and Marc Webb Confirmed for The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Andrew Garfield will return to the role of Peter Parker and Marc Webb is set to direct as Columbia Pictures prepares to begin production on the next installment of The Amazing Spider-Man, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad, president of Columbia Pictures, and Hannah Minghella, president of production for the studio. The screenplay is by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci and Jeff Pinkner based on a previous draft by James Vanderbilt. The film will be produced by Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach. The new chapter in the Spider-Man saga is set for release in 3D on May 2, 2014.

Emma Stone is also in talks to return to the blockbuster franchise and is expected to reprise her role as Gwen Stacy.

The new film will begin production in early 2013. Webb, Garfield and Stone previously teamed on this summer's blockbuster The Amazing Spider-Man, which has taken in more than $751 million worldwide.

Commenting on the announcement, Belgrad said, "We could not be more confident in the direction we are taking this new Spider-Man storyline and we are tremendously excited to be ramping up production again with Marc at the helm and Andrew continuing on as Peter Parker. We can’t wait to share what we have in store for Peter and Spider-Man with audiences worldwide."