Drew Goddard to Write and Direct Marvel Spider-Man Movie

The Marvel Spider-Man solo film, part of the historic partnership between Sony and Marvel Studios to reinvigorate Spidey's box-office prospects, has found a director and a writer. It's not at all surprising who they've picked, but it's plenty exciting just the same.

It appears that Drew Goddard is both writer and director of the new Spider-Man movie. This makes perfect sense. The Cabin in the Woodsdirector has been attached to write and direct what was intended to be the next film in Sony's (now defunct) Amazing Spider-Man franchise, The Sinister Six. We had heard that Sinister Six wasn't quite dead yet, and we may still see that film, especially since Goddard had already done a bunch of work on it. It's now possible that the groundwork will be laid in this film, first. But whatever happens, it won't happen until after July of 2017 when the new Spider-Man movie hits theaters

This isn't official news, and we tend to be careful with the rumor mill, but everything about this adds up. Drew Goddard is a perfect choice for this, and it's a wonder that his sole feature directing job remains Cabin in the Woods. Latino Review first broke the news, and they have additional details about some of the behind the scenes drama involving Ike Perlmutter and former Spidey franchise honcho Avi Arad. Goddard is almost certainly Sony's choice for the joint venture, and at one point Sinister Six was floated as a soft reboot of their version of the franchise. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Goddard's actual meetings with Marvel will take place on March 4th. 

[related article: Where Spider-Man Fits in the Marvel Cinematic Universe]

There are some other fun details that come along with this. The word that the next Spider-Man will be an actor young enough to be in high school in these films, and potentially stick with the part for many years to come is still at the forefront. There will be no origin story (thank god), Spidey will already be well established when he first appears in Captain America: Civil War in 2016. With that film about to go into production, expect a casting announcement for Spidey to come fairly soon.

The film may or may not be called The Spectacular Spider-Man. And Spidey may square off with Iron Man in an attempt to "audition" for the Avengers, similar to his attempts to join the Fantastic Four in The Amazing Spider-Man #1. Perhaps this is part of the big announcement that Robert Downey Jr. teased is coming on March 5th.

More on this as we get it. Hopefully an official announcement is on the way. 

The complete Marvel movie release calendar, including The Spetacular Spider-Man, can be found here.