Marc Webb has been confirmed as the director of the next Spider-Man trilogy. Following rumours of his surprise status as contender to Sam Raimi's crown, Marvel and Sony officially announced that the deal has now been spun and signed for.

The director of (500) Days of Summer, nominated for two Golden Globes and three Independent Spirit Awards, is excited by the opportunity given to him: "This is a dream come true and I couldn't be more aware of the challenge, responsibility, or opportunity. Sam Raimi's virtuoso rendering of Spider-Man is a humbling precedent to follow and build upon."

Webb added: "I think the Spider-Man mythology transcends not only generations but directors as well. I am signing on not to 'take over' from Sam. That would be impossible. Not to mention arrogant. I'm here because there's an opportunity for ideas, stories, and histories that will add a new dimension, canvas, and creative voice to Spider-Man.

After booting Sam Raimi out over massive disagreements (mostly to do with casting John Malkovich), Sony have been working away at a Spidey reboot for 2012. With James Vanderbilt's script in place, and a director who knows how to handle young adults and emotions - and costs less - the studio are sitting pretty smug on this one. And with the quick appointment of Sam's successor, their release date should remain unchanged: production begins later this year.

Amy Pascal, co-Chairman of Sony issued the following statement: "At its core, Spider-Man is a small, intimate human story about an everyday teenager that takes place in an epic super-human world. The key for us was to identify filmmakers who could give sharp focus to Peter Parker's life. We wanted someone who could capture the awe of being in Peter's shoes so the audience could experience his sense of discovery while giving real heart to the emotion, anxiety, and recklessness of that age... We believe Marc Webb is the perfect choice to bring us on that journey."

It's hard to disagree with that. I just hope he chooses someone decent to play Peter Parker. And by decent I mean not Robert Pattinson.

A Spidey world post-Sam Raimi? Sony aren't scared. They're already lining up his replacement. And who's near the top of the list? (500) Days of Summer director Marc Webb. Deadline Hollywood have reported that he's met with the studio to discuss the idea, although it's hardly set in stone. The shortlist also includes folks like James Cameron and David Fincher - every helmer out there in Hollywood, in fact.

But if Marc were to spin Spidey's new web from scratch, he could bring a considerable amount of visual style to proceedings. Plus he'd be new enough to the blockbuster game to be bullied into not casting John Malkovich. Ever. Sony don't seem to like him very much.

So if Sony decide to go all 3-D, which they may well do, Webb will probably go along with it. Still, with (500) Days on his CV, he could easily pull off a Christopher Nolan here - who knew he had action movie potential when he took on Batman Begins?

You read that correctly. It's been flying all over the internet tonight that Sony are shelving the Spidey sequel in favour of a complete reboot. Sam Raimi has gone. Tobey Maguire's gone. Anne Hathaway's gone. John Malkovich has gone - not that he was ever in it in the first place. Which was the main problem, really. With Sam and Sony disagreeing over the director's determined casting call for his villain, The Vulture, Spidey 4's May release was looking unlikely. Now it won't happen at all.

Jamie Vanderbilt is stilll on board to scribble out his new version of Spider-Man's origins. But the rest of the talent will change over completely as Peter Parker goes back to his high-school days. Again. Sony have issued an official statement. You can read that at DeadlineHollywood, who broke the news. But here's what Sam said:

"Working on the Spider-Man movies was the experience of a lifetime for me. While we were looking forward to doing a fourth one together, the studio and Marvel have a unique opportunity to take the franchise in a new direction, and I know they will do a terrific job." Well, that sounds like a sincere and personal note from the departed director.

With Thor muscling in on Sony's old release date, expect wind soon of when Spider-Man 4 (or 1, or 0, or whatever number you want to call it) will hit our screens in 2012. No doubt the new Peter Parker will be some young actor like Zac Efron. And he'll probably be wearing 3-D specs to the party.

Yes, the LA Times has put about the rumour that Josh Brolin may well up for a role in Men in Black 3. That's right, MIB 3, a sequel to the sequel that was utter crap.

With Tropic Thunder's Etan Cohen scribbling away furiously for the franchise's third entry, things may not be a total disaster, but I wouldn't get too excited. Then again, look at Mr Brolin, squint a bit, and you can kind of see it: he does look quite a bit like Tommy Lee Jones. So will he be playing the return of K? Or just voicing that talking dog thing?

Either way, even with Will Smith on board (and that isn't certain yet), Brolin should back away from black and stick with True Grit. Forget it Sony, sorry Sonnenfeld - let my Brolin go!

Yes, there's a sequel and yes, it'll be in 3-D. After Ruben Fleischer expressed an interest in following the funny film with another undead-bashing bloodbath, Sony have now gone ahead and signed up the same folk (Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick) to scribble a screenplay for them.

Ruben will return at the helm, as will producer Gavin Polone. He told Variety: "Everyone had fun watching the first Zombieland; making it a more visceral experience can only make it better. I don't think you want to see Ordinary People in 3-D. But Zombieland is clearly one movie that will benefit from the technique."

It'll also benefit from a lot of Woody Harrelson. Here's hoping he nuts up and shuts up a second time round.

Sony will be pleased. Not only did their limited release Michael Jackson tribute do well, it did very, very well. As MJ fans flocked to the cinemas, the deceased King of Pop danced, moonwalked and crotch-grabbed his way to the top of the US Box Office, all to the tune of $32.5m - or, worldwide, $101m. That's a lot of money.

In just five days, This Is It has accrued the kind of money you'd expect from a summer blockbuster, not an autumn documentary. People may be buzzing about Paranormal Activity's tidy sum of $84.4m (really impressive for a film made for barely any money), but that took three weeks to earn. Michael's been dead for four months, but when it comes to striking box office gold, this is it.

No wonder, then, that Sony have announced plans to extend the movie's two-week run. So much for a briefly available special event. Then again, after they expected figures closer to $250m, it gives the die-hards time to go another two times. They'll probably take their kids along too.

Director: Kenny Ortega
Cast: Michael Jackson
Certificate: PG
Trailer

"It's all for love. L.O.V.E." says the King of Pop mid-rehearsal for his sell-out 50 date concert at the O2. That's right. Love. And money. Milking the masses desperate for a little more MJ, This Is It gives us all a taste of what Michael Jackson was like behind the scenes. Mostly, the taste is sweet. Sickly sweet. Dancers line up to tell the camera how much he changed their lives, sobbing between sugary sentences. "I'm from Australia," says one, before breaking down into tears.