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Buzz on the Net is that Sony has been working Zodiac scribe James Vanderbilt like a proverbial dog on Spider-Man 4, with the scripter now having completed a working draft of the superhero sequel.

Cinnematical.com have reported the news, and, so their source claims: "The story arc has encompassed two films, making Spider-Man 5 shootable at the same time. The studio saw dollar signs and is in the process of reworking his deal to snatch up the story arc."

Interesting news indeed. At present it seems none of this is confirmed, and the studio certainly has a job gathering up the likes of Toby Maguire, Kirstin Dunst and Sam Raimi (if he chooses to don the directorial megaphone once again) together for a back-to-back shooting schedule.

How's this for an incentive though: 2007's Spider-Man 3, despite a mauling from many critics and fans, still made an estimated $800 million at the worldwide box office.

Although the casting would be interesting in itself, there is rife speculation that the new storyline includes Black Cat, Electro and Hammerhead.