Spidey Casts Web Over Summer 2004

This'll have Spidey's senses tingling.

Columbia Pictures has just pushed The Amazing Spider-Man's release date back two months, causing a ripple effect on the slate of summer 2004 releases.

Instead of bowing May 7 (in keeping with the 2002 original's spectacular spring launch), the movie has been pushed to July 2--which pits The Amazing's Tobey Maguire against Big Willie Smith and his traditional Independence Day release. Next summer, Smith will star in the Isaac Asimov-inspired feature I Robot, due to hit theaters July 2.

Bring it on, says Sony Pictures Vice Chairman Jeff Blake. "The July 4 holiday weekend is traditionally one of the most anticipated weekends of the box-office year, and it's a going to be a great date to launch Spider-Man 2," said the exec in a statement released Wednesday.

Now swooping in for the early May multiplex kill is Universal's monster mash Van Helsing, originally scheduled to launch two weeks later. The movie, from Mummy director Stephen Sommers, stars Hugh Jackman as a vampire hunter who's forced to be an equal-opportunity slayer against rivals Dracula, Frankenstein's monster and the Wolfman.

Despite the widely reported back problems of Spider-Man star Maguire, the delay has nothing to do with the webslinger's alter ego, according to the actor's publicist. "The May release date was set after the success of the first Spider-Man. It was a date pulled out of the air, but once the reality of production set in, they realized they needed to move it," said the actor's rep Kelly Bush.

Just last week, Maguire's camp fueled speculation that the radioactive superhero flick could be in jeopardy when they released a statement claiming the actor was recovering from "mild discomfort in his back," which he exacerbated while shooting two physically demanding roles: Spider-Man, followed 18 months later by the four-month shoot for Universal's horse-racing drama Seabiscuit, in which he plays jockey Red Pollard.

"With an April 12 start date around the corner, everyone involved wants to be certain he is able to do the intense stunts," Bush said in a statement last week, noting Maguire was in "the final stages of healing."

Industry sources said the back injury was bogus, and just a bargaining ploy from the Maguire camp to get more money for the sequel. The 27-year-old star, they said, was looking for a pay hike to put him firmly among Hollywood's A-list earners after the first Spidey flick, part of a planned three-part franchise; it was the biggest-grossing film of 2002, with $800 million in worldwide ticket sales.

"Ridiculous," say those close to Maguire, dismissing the negotiation allegations as Tinseltown tattle and insisting Maguire's back woes were legit.

This much is known, Maguire has scored a whopping $17 million paycheck--more than four times what he made for Spider-Man--to reprise his role as the webslinging savior in director Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2.

Back problems and release dates aside, shooting is still slated to begin April 12 in New York City. Production has already been delayed to accommodate Maguire, who was galloping to the finish line on Seabiscuit last month. That equine flick wrapped in February, a month after Raimi had hoped to start shooting his famous wall-crawler franchise.

While the new release date seems to suggest a more flexible shooting schedule, the studio insists nothing has changed, since Spider-Man costar Kirsten Dunst has to start shooting the tennis flick Wimbledon in June.

Meanwhile, the list of potential love interests grows for Dunst. The actress' real-life love interest, Jake Gyllenhaal, had been named as a potential replacement to fill Spidey's tights if Maguire was unable to go back to work. Now, another contender has entered the arena. According to E! Online Movie Scoop columnist Anderson Jones, Jerry O'Connell could be up for a spot in Spider-Man 2 as a competitor, not a replacement, for Dunst's affections.

Earlier, O'Connell was said to be in the running to don Superman's cape, should the Man of Steel movie make it to the big screen. Suddenly, the Kangaroo Jack star could find himself with a casting choice of superhero proportions.