It's been quite a week for fans of the Spider-Man movies, with firstly the news that Spider-Man 4 was being canned (taking Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire off the franchise at the same time), and then the revelation that Sony was looking to do a grittier reboot (with, inevitably, Batman Begins being discussed as some form of template).

And the news isn't slowing, either. Earlier in the week, when names of potential directors for the Spider-Man reboot were being mooted, it was (500) Days Of Summer director Marc Webb who kept getting a namecheck. As it turns out, it's a suggestion that's proving to be very close to the mark.

Over at Deadline Hollywood, the site reported that Webb has met with Sony chiefs to talk about the film. As Deadline Hollywood notes, "What has Sony execs excited is the fact that (500) Days of Summer introduced a director with a grasp of how to depict the way young people think and feel."

Given that the script from James Vanderbilt is a high-school based origins story, Webb has bubbled to the top part of a list which reportedly also includes the likes of David Fincher (genius, but would never happen) and Wes Anderson (genius, but they'd never let him make the film he actually wanted to make). James Cameron is also apparently on the list, but there's more chance of us baking cakes for Cameron for a living for the rest of our lives than that happening.

Sony is keen to get the film behind the cameras this year, which means decisions will need to made in the next couple of months about key personnel, and it's also pressing ahead with making the next Spider-Man film in 3D. As such, it's looking to give itself enough time to comfortably meet that new summer 2012 release date.

Here's the Deadline Hollywood story. And could it be that the summer of 2012 will see a three-way mash-up between Wolverine, Batman and Spider-Man now? If Warner Bros can get its backside into gear with Superman, it'll be the superhero summer to rule them all...