From worstpreviews, During the making of "Spider-Man 3," director Sam Raimi did not want Venom to be the villain in the movie, but Sony convinced him otherwise. The result, a big mess. And now that "Spider-Man 4" is ready to head into production in March, the studio is once again getting in Raimi's way.
IESB has learned that the new installment, being called "Spider-M4N" by Sony, has been put on hold while Raimi and executives figure out which villains will appear in the film.
Raimi is pushing for Vulture (possibly played by John Malkovich), a character who can fly through the air and brandish his sharp wings to attack our hero. But Sony believes that there are plenty of other more popular villains that he can use. The studio doesn't have any characters in mind, but will take whichever one is selling the most comic books right now. And it's not the Vulture.
Because of this disagreement, the fourth film has come to halt, leaving the script unfinished and in need of villain. Only time will tell whether the March start date will be pushed back. Stay tuned.
The Vulture seems to be a favorite for Raimi, since he was pushing for the villain to appear in "Spider-Man 3" instead of Venom. Vulture and Flint Marko would have been cellmates who escaped together, with Vulture pressuring Marko into committing crimes.
