Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst out of 'Spider-Man' saga

Lead actor Tobey Maguire (who played Peter Parker) won’t be returning for the fourth installment, along with co-star Kirsten Dunst. Director Sam Raimi, who directed the previous three films, quit as well.

“Everybody’s really sad today,” said an individual close to the project. “This is like a family who works together. It wasn’t anyone lowered the boom. We’ve been talking about this for quite some time.”

“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,” said Raimi.

Raimi further said that working on Spider-Man films was the experience of a lifetime.

New movie taken up by Columbia pictures
The new movie, based on a script by James Vanderbilt, will be taken up by Columbia pictures. It will focus on the lead character Peter Parker and his adventures in high school.

In the first three movies, Parker had already graduated from high school, so the coming film will be a reworking of the franchise.

Sony said it would have more news about it in the coming weeks.

“Columbia has a rare opportunity to make history once again with this franchise. We're very excited about the creative possibilities that come from returning to Peter's roots,” said Studio co-chairman Amy Pascal.

“This is a bittersweet moment for us because while it is hard to imagine Spider-Man in anyone else's hands, I know that this was a day that was inevitable,” said Matt Tolmach, president of Columbia Pictures.

Spider-Man compared to Harry Potter
Spider-Man movies have raked approximately $2.5 billion till now. The movie also earns profits from product licensing, toy sales and merchandise revenues.

Spider-Man, the 21st highest grossing film of all time, currently ranks eighth in the all-time U.S. and Canada box office.

The film has been compared to the likes of The Lord of The Rings and Harry Potter.