Meet your *NEW* friendly neighborhood Spider-Man director

Kill the speculation and commence the puns.

Marc Webb, director and co-writer of last year’s (500) Days of Summer, has signed a three picture deal to direct a new ‘Spider-Man’ film series, Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios announced today.

In the short while since it was reported Sam Raimi and company walked away from an intended 4th movie starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, Webb’s name quickly shot to the top of the pile of filmmakers Sony was allegedly targeting to take the reins of a franchise reboot, utilizing a two-part script from James Vanderbilt (long in place as a contingency plan for the studio).

Vanderbilt’s story is said to reintroduce audiences to the world of Peter Parker, emphasizing the character’s roots as a high school student and maintaining an authentic, real-world “grittiness” akin to other recent comic book properties.