MANHATTAN — New York's getting a new friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures pulled the plug on its fourth installment of its Spider-Man franchise, opting instead for a grittier reboot of the series with a new lead actor.
Tobey Maguire is out as Manhattan's favorite wall-crawler. Gone also is director Sam Raimi.
"Working on the 'Spider-Man' movies was the experience of a lifetime for me," Raimi said in a statement released late Monday.
"While we were looking forward to doing a fourth one together, the studio and Marvel have a unique opportunity to take the franchise in a new direction, and I know they will do a terrific job."
Raimi's Spider-Man series grossed nearly $2.5 billion worldwide.
The movie's Web site still lists May 6, 2011 as the release date for Spider-Man 4, but that release slot will now be filled by another Marvel super hero film, "Thor," directed by Kenneth Branagh.
Anne Hathaway was rumored to play villain/Spider-Man love interest the Black Cat in the killed film, according to IMDB.com.
But one fanboy Web site says this could be for the good. A source tells Ain't it Cool News that the script for Spider-Man 4 was "legendarily awful."
A Spider-Man Broadway show has been delayed for months because of creative and money problems, the Los Angeles Times reported, and with a budget of more than $50 million, it's the most expensive musical in history.
There was no word as to who would assume the Spidey mantle. The new film is scheduled to be released in 2012.
