We might know who the villains are in "Spider-Man 4" or whether Sam Raimi will be back for "Spider-Man 5" and "Spider-Man 6," but when it comes to the connection between the "Spider-Man" franchise and a potential "Venom" movie, well...

Okay, Raimi couldn't give us much on that question, either.

But we did ask the celebrated director about how the two universes will connect, if at all, when Spider-Man's black-clad nemesis swings off into his own solo movie. Read more...

As we reported last week, much about "Spider-Man 4" is still in flux: Gary Ross is currently hard at work on a draft of the script after getting notes from director Sam Raimi and they claim they're still figuring out which villain makes the most sense to compliment Peter Parker's character growth in the picture. What's more, beyond the return of franchise stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, few decisions about the cast have been made.

All of which makes comments that Raimi's buddy Bruce Campbell made last month extremely interesting, when he told Access Hollywood he'd have a major role in the new film.

When MTV News had a chance to talk to Raimi, of course we needed to know if Campbell was speaking the truth. After sneaking into cameos in the first three "Spider-Man" flicks, has the "Evil Dead" star really nabbed a major part in the fourth installment? Read more...

Apparently, Sam Raimi sides with fans who argue that “Spider-Man 3” was weakened by having too many villains.

According to the Coventry Telegraph, Raimi told the print edition of DVD & Blu-ray Review, “I think having so many villains detracted from the experience. I would agree with the criticism."

Raimi also revealed that his experience making the horror film “Drag Me To Hell," which hit shelves this week, will also have a positive impact on the next “Spider-Man” film. Read more...

Sam Raimi already gave us his thoughts on "Spider-Man 4" villains and when he expects to start shooting the next "Spider-Man" movie in the blockbuster franchise, but once we had him talking about the friendly neighborhood wall-crawler, we had to ask: Will he be back for "Spider-Man 5" and "Spider-Man 6"?

"Every time I make one of the 'Spider-Man' movies, I have to ask myself, is the character still intriguing to me?" Raimi told MTV News. "Do I love the character? Am I dying to tell the next story of Peter Parker and Spider-Man?"

"And so far the answer has been yes," he said. Read more...

It's a comic fan's fever dream: call up director Sam Raimi and tell him which villain he should select to do battle against the web-spinning wonderboy in "Spider-Man 4." Alas, that just ain't gonna happen. But we came pretty close.

In a chat with Raimi last week, we presented the results of our recent Who Should Be The 'Spider-Man 4' Villain poll to the man himself. And he loved who readers picked. (FYI: The Lizard nabbed 29 percent of the vote, while Carnage came in a close second with 26 percent.)

"I love the Lizard," said Raimi. "There's a great story there in the Marvel comic books about Dr. Connors. I'm less familiar with Carnage." Read more...

Back in March, a little less than two years after "Spider-Man 3" opened with what was then the biggest first weekend ever, Sony and Marvel Studios announced an official release date for its fourth Spidey flick: May 6, 2011. Still up in the air was the date when production would actually begin.

In an exclusive conversation with MTV News on Friday, franchise director Sam Raimi reveled that if all goes according to plan, shooting will begin early next year.

"We're hoping that it's the first week in March," said Raimi. Read more...

While talking with writer Ed Brubaker about the return of Captain America to the Marvel Comics universe, the recent release of "Sleeper: Season One" (a collection of his 2003-2005 superhero crime series) reminded me that the "Captain America" comic isn't his only project with big-screen connections. But what's going on with the "Sleeper" movie these days?

Back in August, it was announced that "Sleeper" was tagged for adaptation with Sam Raimi producing the film and Tom Cruise starring as Holden Carver, a super-powered secret agent deep undercover within a supervillain cabal and left hanging when the only person who knows he's one of the good guys falls into a coma. In October, word hit the wire that Hollywood newcomer Brad Ingelsby would write the screenplay for the adaptation, but updates have been few and far between since that time.

According to Brubaker, little has changed since the last update -- except for the screenwriter, that is. Read more...

It’s a question on the minds of film buffs and comics fans alike, as they look forward to 2011’s return of Peter Parker to the big-screen: Who will he be fighting?

Recently, Sam Raimi revealed to us that he’s a mere four weeks away from reading a first draft of the “Spider-Man 4” script. And along with writer David Lindsay-Abaire, there are a few key elements they’re looking for in a potential villain.

“I’ve talked with David about a possible villain, villains, villain-ess,” the director grinned, being careful not to reveal genders or numbers in regards to Spidey’s nemesis. “[We’ve spoken] about who knows what Spider-Man’s conflicting personas would be.” Read more...

"Spider-Man 4" director Sam Raimi doesn't seem certain about Kirsten Dunst's return or exactly what's going to be in the script at this point, but the rumor mill continues to churn about the next chapter in Spidey's big-screen franchise. Way back in January, we reported that Raimi had mentioned "The Living Vampire" Morbius as a potential foe for Marvel's wall-crawler, and it looks like the celebrated director still has a soft spot for the bloodsucker.

During a press event for his new film "Drag Me To Hell," Fear.Net asked Raimi about the vampire rumors for the fourth installment of the "Spider-Man" films. The director's response was, well... of the "neither confirm nor deny" variety. Read more...

With “Drag Me to Hell” rocking the socks off preview audiences and likely on its way to becoming one of the summer’s sleeper hits, director Sam Raimi can finally shift his focus back to the blockbuster franchise that made him a household name. And at the end of June, he’ll be ready to do exactly that with a newly-printed copy of Hollywood’s hottest screenplay.

“Right now, David Lindsay-Abaire, a New York playwright, is working on the screenplay,” Raimi said of the eagerly-anticipated “Spider-Man 4” script that will lay the blueprint for his film, due in theaters May 6, 2011. “He says that he’ll be done in about four weeks with his first draft. So that’s where I am right now. And I’m just about to hire a production skeleton.” Read more...