To mixed responses Spider-Man 4 is going ahead and now the rumours and hints are starting to come through...
It had long been hinted after the end of Spider-Man 3 that the most logical choice for a new villain would be The Lizard, aka Dr. Curt Connors, played by Dylan Baker in the previous installments. Now Baker confirms that he's definitely in the 4th movie but doesn't know to what extent and whether The Lizard will be the Big Bad (or one of the Big Bad's) and it's not like he'd give that away anyway. Just because Baker is in the movie it doesn't mean he'll be anything more than a bit player as he has been in the past.
Rumours also started to fly when Bruce Campbell was confirmed but with a "bigger" part... Everyone seems to think that if he's put into the role of a villain then he'd be perfectly suited for old fishbowl-head Mysterio. The question is - How will they make those two villains believable in a growing Marvel movie universe where real world believability is the dish of the day. We've got away with Green Goblin, Dr. Octopus, Venom and Sandman, so why not them?
Let's face it though, Spider-Man 3 was bloody terrible... Venom was a joke, both in human Eddie Brock form and in the Symbiote state, the whole evil transformation of Peter and the eventual dance scene that came from that was f'ing cringe worthy, the new Goblin design was awful, and Bryce Dallas Howard's Gwen Stacy outshone Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane in every way and form (not how it is in the comics!). Hopefully Sam Raimi will get his head in gear for the 4th movie and go back to Spider-Man 2's greatness. I'm not holding my breath though. The future focus will truthfully all be on Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers!