‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2′ Director Will Be…

'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' was going to happen, even if the last film wasn't a huge critical success. Eager to keep the franchise going, Sony Pictures has locked in a director to work on the upcoming sequel and that director is...

It's Marc Webb, the same guy who directed 'The Amazing Spider-Man!'

OK, while it seems like that shouldn't be surprising, there was actually a good deal of debate as to whether Webb would return. As you might remember, giant chunks of 'The Amazing Spider-Man' were edited out (remember the whole "Untold Story" that was advertised but never really shown in the movie?) and there were plenty of reshoots. Sony wasn't sure what kind of movie Webb would deliver and didn't want to lock him in to a contract if the movie underperformed.

But 'Amazing Spider-Man' made over $750 million worldwide, which is nothing to sneeze at and thought Webb deserved another go. The problem was that Webb was still in contract to Fox Searchlight from his '500 Days of Summer' deal and Fox planned on exercising that contract. Early reports indicate that Webb would agree to two additional films for Searchlight if they would allow him to first direct 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2.'

Filming on 'Amazing Spider-Man 2,' which will bring back stars Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, is expected to begin early next year for a May 2, 2014 release date.