Following on from Monday's big announcement about Sony's plan to reboot **Spider-Man sans Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire, talk has naturally turned to who can take over the franchise as it goes all Batman Begins. And among the current front runners? Marc Webb, the man behind successful romantic comedy drama (500) Days Of Summer.
His name has apparently been bandied around for a while now, but don't go thinking that this is anywhere near a done deal: all that Deadline Hollywood has heard is that he's met with the film's producers and executives about the job and is definitely on the team's wish list. But it's a long list that includes just about every available director. Yes, James Cameron, David Fincher and even Wes Anderson are being pondered.
While he might lack the experience of those big names, consider the advantages. He's a lot cheaper and has less bargaining power when it comes to following the studio's wishes than those noted auteurs.
And let's not forget that Chris Nolan wasn't exactly a superhero expert when he made his first Batman movie.
The one extra new wrinkle? The fact that the delay is not just because of the shake-up behind the scenes, but so that there's time to shoot it in 3D if Sony decides that's the way it wants to go.
We'll have to wait and see now if Webb really does A) want the job and B) gets the megaphone, but for now, all he really has is the perfect name. You can just imagine studio types thinking of the free publicity from jokey "Webb spins Spider-Man" headlines...