The Geek Beat is taking a late-September vacation to Middle Earth -- but it will be back next month and those of you suffering withdrawels can always check the archives. In the meantime, you can relax with a daily round-up of nerdy news bites. (They taste like coconut!) This is relaxing for me, too -- I get to catch up on my reading, my Halloween shopping, and my yoga. I can stay up all night re-reading Preacher (you know I will) and not waiting for an X-Men Origins: Wolverine story. A good way to end summer!

Now, onto today's news ...

• According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jeffery Erb and Robert Robinson Jr. have launched Framelight Productions with an eye to producing edgy comic and graphic novel adaptations. They already have options on Larry Hama's Dr. Death with Kip and Muffy, Gary Reed's Deadworld, Ralph Tedesco and Joe Tyler's Sins of the Fallen, as well as their 1001 Arabian Nights. (Clicking on any of those links will take you to previews of the books.) All of their productions aim to do one thing in particular -- involve the creator in all aspects of movie making. "We weren't the only producers wanting to make movies based on these creators' babies, but we were the only ones inviting them in as co-producers," says Erb.

• Edward Norton told MTV News that he's uncertain about the future of The Incredible Hulk and his role in it. There's been no word on whether they will be a solo sequel, or if Norton will be playing the Hulk in The Avengers. "The minds of Marvel are sometimes opaque. I won't say [they're] obtuse, but I don't have any idea what they want to do." Perhaps they're considering Matthew McConaughey, who had no idea he was rumored for Captain America -- but revealed to MTV that Hulk is really the only Marvel character he would like to play. (They could save on the budget -- all they have to do is dye that muscled dude green.)
  

Though nothing has been made official yet, Nikki Finke over at Deadline Hollywood says the deal is done to bring both Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi back for Spider-Man 4 and 5. Not only that, but Finke also claims the exclusive on a story we broke right here at Cinematical months ago (thanks for the credit Nikki) -- that Sony plans to shoot both films back to back, not just because it's cheaper, but also because we were informed that James Vanderbilt's (Zodiac) script included a story arc that encompassed two films, not one.

As far as Kirsten Dunst goes, she currently does not have a deal, but Finke claims her character will return and Sony is not interested in recasting her. Villains? While there's been no announcement yet, a source claims that "once you find out who the villain is, you'll know who's playing him." Naturally, that leads everyone to believe that Dylan Baker will reprise his role and ultimately become The Lizard. Should they continue along the same path Spider-Man 3 went down, one imagines another villain (or two) will show up, perhaps as a way to tease us into the fifth film. I'm sure more will arrive online soon, so until then ... are you happy about Maguire and Raimi returning to the franchise?

Spider-Man 4 is currently scheduled to arrive in May, 2011.

UPDATE: The Hollywood Reporter confirms the Spidey story today.

I feel like I have this long checklist of cast and crew that we're slowly crossing off for this theoretical film. Now, you can put Bryce Dallas Howard on the "would sign tomorrow" list, thanks to MTV. "I would love to be apart of any continuation of the franchise. But, I also really understand that there's so many different story lines that the fans are really excited to see, and the studio, and the producers, and the filmmakers really need to appease everyone," the actress said. "Whether or not Gwen Stacy comes back, I mean, I wish it was up to me, but it's not. But yes, if they'd call me, I'd be there in a heart beat."

I'm not sure how they can really fit Gwen Stacy in -- is there a point in having a romantic rival when Spider-Man is never ever going to leave Mary Jane onscreen? I remember when we all thought (or maybe it was just my corner of the Internet) that they would reverse comic book history, and kill off Mary Jane and hook Mr. Parker up with Gwen. (If House of M is to be believed, and it probably isn't, that's who he really wanted anyway.) Is there even any emotional impact if they kill off Captain George Stacy in a fourth film, as James Cromwell once said they planned on doing? Is the subplot of "I'm really sorry your dad died, my one-time love interest" really worth exploring? I could probably think more clearly if I could get the breakdancing scene out of my head.

Of course, this is all idle speculation when no official announcements have been made. And as for Sam Raimi he's now playing coy with MTV about returning to the director's chair, and says he wants to wear the Spidey suit instead. That's one way to cut the budget.

At first blush, this has all the marks of the sort of tepid, respectful, boring prestige picture that's normally a huge turn-off. Director Gary Ross (Pleasantville, Seabiscuit) will reteam with Tobey Maguire for The Crusaders, a film about the lawyers who litigated the landmark 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education (of Topeka, but who keeps track?). That, of course, was when the Court unanimously held that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.

Maguire will play idealistic young lawyer Jack Greenberg, who teamed with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and future Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall (Terrence Howard was rumored for that role, but that seems to have gone away) to fight the segregationists. This project has been kicking around for a while, and Topher Grace was previously attached to star in what is now Maguire's role.

Ross and Maguire's Seabiscuit, which I thought was precisely the sort of unimaginative, tediously reverent historical Oscar-bait that the Academy loves but anyone with any taste can't stand, bored the pants off me. This sounds like a similar sort of project -- though on the other hand, having spent significant time venerating Brown v. Board in law school, I'm curious to see what Hollywood will do with this story. Sort of in the same way a geologist might be fascinated with The Core, y'know?

Spider-Man 4 is picking up more steam by the week. Maybe it is just me, but it seems to have gone from a point of "not happening any time soon" to "any day now." I'm already feeling worn out thinking about it.

For now, at least, the man behind the camera is on board. Sam Raimi talked to ComingSoon.net about his possible return to the franchise. "James Vanderbilt is writing the script and I'm excited to read it. I think it's going to be done in a few months. I'm hoping it's as great as our discussions were about it and I'm hoping it feels right for me because I love Spider-Man. I'm hoping I'm well-rested enough to embrace it and I'm hoping Sony wants me to do it. If all of those things come together, I would love to do it. There are a lot of unknowns about the future."

A few days ago, Latino Review broke the news that Patrick Fugit was being considered as the heir to the Spider-Man throne. His suitability was hotly debated, but apparently all for nothing if the Internet is to be believed.

CHUD happened to be on set of Cirque du Freak, which Fugit has just finished filming, and one of the producers sent off an inquiry as to the truth of the casting rumor. The e-mail was the first Fugit had heard about it -- which means little in the world of "insider scoops," as Fugit could still quite possibly be on a "to be considered" list. Every 20-something male in the world could be on it. Maybe there's a Cinematical reader just waiting to be plucked from obscurity!

Or not. According to sources over at IESB.net, which included everyone from CAA to Marvel, no actor has been approached. Not even Maguire. But so worried has Sony been about the rumor that they have supposedly been scrambling to have the Fugit story taken off the sites, down to every link and reference. A Sony rep also told IESB that the Fugit story is completely false. "No one is being considered for the role but Tobey. Period."

Now that Jake Gyllenhaal has officially signed to star in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, that basically means we can take his name off the table with regards to all future comic properties (at least until after Persia comes out, because that may turn into a franchise if the first makes loads of duckets). While we still have no idea whether Tobey Maguire will return to play Spidey in a Spider-Man 4, we do know that Sony is prepping something. They just re-upped their deal for a fourth installment (fact) and they may be looking to get more bang for their buck by shooting two sequels at the same time with a story arc that stretches across both films. However, it all comes down to negotiations -- and if parties (be them studios, actors, writers or directors) can't decide on a fair enough deal, things could potentially fall apart rather quickly and go in a completely different direction.

Here's the question: Has enough time passed for Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst? Do they miss the roles? The characters? How much would it take to get them back? And do we want them back? I think it's pretty clear we all still want Spider-Man in our big-screen lives, even though the third film was what it was. But are Maguire and Dunst still the right actors for the job? Or would some new blood do an old franchise some good?

For awhile, lots of people were looking at Jake Gyllenhaal to replace Maguire if a decision like that had to be made. With Jake G. out of the picture, who else could you see filling Maguire's Spidey tights?

Cinematical just received a tasty little scoop from one of our trusty top secret super delegate Hollywood insiders, and it's purty interesting (all you Spidey fans might want to listen up): Apparently, in the last few weeks, James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) has turned in a working draft of Spider-Man 4 to the studio. However, according to our source, "his story arc has encompassed two films, making Spider-Man 5 shootable at the same time. The studio saw dollar signs and is in the process of reworking his deal to snatch up the story arc." Don't expect anything immediately, though, since we've been told both sides are still trying to negotiate the deal.

Right now we have no word on what that arc is or where Vanderbilt is taking his script, but it's interesting to know that they're looking to spread the next Spidey storyline across two films, instead of shooting one more and taking it from there. Obviously Sony has wiped away the bad buzz from Spidey 3 and is interested in stretching this franchise as far as they can. After three flicks, I can't see Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst returning to shoot two Spider-Man films together (would be a lot to take on), but you never know. In the meantime, here's what we know: Looks like Vanderbilt is writing Spider-Man 4 and Spider-Man 5, and the studio might look to shoot both flicks at the same time. As of right now, the studio has no comment. We'll update this post should we hear more ...

Whaddya think?

Let me just say right up front that I hope Tobey Maguire and company will be making some changes to the feature version of Lori Gottlieb's infamous Atlantic Monthly article, Marry Him! The case for settling for Mr. Good Enough. Variety reports that Maguire's shingle, Maguire Entertainment, along with Warner Independent, have purchased the rights to the NPR's host advice on love and marriage. First, Gottlieb will adapt the story into a book for the publishing arm of Warners and then Maguire will adapt that book into a big-screen romantic comedy.

Having read the article, I'll just say that I hope I never run into Gottlieb in person because it would probably end with me being slapped with a restraining order. Some highlights from Gottlieb's article include: "Don't worry about passion or intense connection. Don't nix a guy based on his annoying habit of yelling 'Bravo!' in movie theaters. Overlook his halitosis or abysmal sense of aesthetics. Because if you want to have the infrastructure in place to have a family, settling is the way to go" and "...in reality, we aren't fish who can do without a bicycle, we're women who want a traditional family." In other words, keep your mouths shut ladies because you don't want to end up an old maid.

There's a few new and mysterious writing deals making the rounds:

First, Variety reports that Spyglass Entertainment has picked up a romantic comedy pitch called Leap Year -- but absolutely nothing is being said about it. So, you can imagine the obvious -- there's something due to our four-year blip, and all sorts of laughter and love. It is, however, a pitch from Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont, the writing team who most recently whipped together Made of Honor, but is also known for A Very Brady Sequel, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, Josie and the Pussycats, Surviving Christmas, and my personal guilty favorite -- Can't Hardly Wait. It's nice to see them ripping out of their TV show remake rut -- this is just one of a number of upcoming features.

Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter posts that Endgame has picked up a spec by Robert Tannen called The Hungry Rabbit Jumps. The writer has one lone credit to his name -- 2006's Even Money, a crime drama that starred actors from Kim Basinger to Forest Whitaker. This spec, however, is being kept under wraps too, but we do know this -- Tobey Maguire is producing it (to possibly star in?), and the film is described as a "dark, character-driven thriller." Whether he jumps in front of the camera or not, this is still another project for Maguire's post-Spider-Man career. He's got a bunch of upcoming films on the way, plus Afterburn, which Elisabeth mentioned last month.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, everyone's favorite webslinger is tackling another comic book adaptation. Tobey Maguire is teaming up with Neal Moritz to produce Afterburn, a comic series published by Red 5 Comics. There's no word yet if Maguire plans to star, or if he's sticking behind the scenes on this one. No writer has been assigned to adapt.

Afterburn is a sci-fi adventure set in a post-apocalyptic Earth, where the Eastern Hemisphere has been destroyed by a massive solar flare. Those who survived have mutated due to the radioactive fallout. In this bleak setting lives a group of treasure hunters, who are happy to track down priceless treasures like the Mona Lisa, the Rosetta Stone, and the Crown Jewels -- for the right price. After all, they have to combat rival hunters, mutants and pirates. It sounds like Tomb Raider meets the X-Men. It's been getting pretty good reviews across the Internet, so I may just have to check it out since I'm a sucker for anything involving treasure hunters.

I've made it no secret that I'm ridiculously happy that Christian Bale was picked to be the latest incarnation of Batman. Sure, other people might have done a good job, but Bale is flipping perfect. That being said, what would you have thought of, say, Joshua Jackson as the dark hero? And, if you didn't want him as Bruce Wayne, what about Peter Parker?

A few days after hearing that Chris Cooper almost got the role of Lt. Gordon in Batman Begins (I love Cooper, but phew!), MTV has posted a similar discussion with Joshua Jackson. According to the ol' Dawson's Creek actor, he was one of the "last four or five guys" up for the gig -- and it's not the only superhero gig he's been interested in. Jackson said: "You know, honestly, out of the big super heroes, the guy that I would most naturally be a fit to play is Spider-Man, but that one is pretty well locked up. And, frankly, I'm too old to play that character because the parable of Spider-Man is the teenager going through puberty."

Upon hearing that Tobey Maguire hasn't signed on for the future flicks in the works, Jackson continued: "Well then, yeah. That was really subtle of me putting my name in the hat." Of course, it's nothing more than a fleeting interest right now, but you never know what could happen. What would you do if Maguire hands his red tights to Jackson?

In my review of Dan in Real Life on Friday, I mentioned what an excellent writer I find Peter Hedges to be. He wrote my favorite novel, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, as well as the screenplay for the Johnny Depp adaptation. He co-wrote About a Boy, and wrote and directed Pieces of April. All great stuff. Dan is the weakest of that lot, but still an entertaining film. It seems other people are fans of Hedges as well, he's just been signed to write and direct Everything Changes, an adaptation of the Jonathan Trapper book of the same name. Hedges was hired to adapt the book, and loved it so much he opted to direct as well.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the story focuses on "a man on the verge of marrying the perfect girl when he undergoes a life crisis as he faces feelings for his recently deceased best friend's wife and also deals with the sudden arrival of his womanizing, estranged father." Did you follow all of that? The film will most likely star Tobey Maguire, who will also co-produce with Wendy Finerman (Forrest Gump). It will be good to see Maguire back in non-Spider-Man roles, his vicious performance in the otherwise limp The Good German reminded me how good he can be. Have any of you read Everything Changes? Thoughts?

There was a time when Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire were rivals, so to speak, both hot names attached to the web of Spider-Man. Whenever it seemed like Tobey would leave, Jake's name would slide into the buzz. While we will probably never get to see what Jake would be like as a spider, which is unfortunate, both actors are now looking to be Brothers. Variety has reported that Relativity Media is remaking Susanne Bier's Danish war drama, and the actors are both in negotiations to star.

The original, which starred Connie Nielson, Ulrich Thomsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas, came out in 2004 and centered on a man who is sent to Afghanistan on a UN mission, and his black-sheep brother who becomes the caretaker for his brother's wife and child. If the negotiations work out, Maguire will play the military brother, and Gyllenhaal will be the one who takes over the familial duties. The original won a number of accolades including a number of audience awards from festivals like Boston, Creteil, and Sundance. David Benioff (Troy and Wolverine) is adapting the film, and the plan is to begin shooting it in the beginning of November. While foreign remakes are so darned overdone, it'll be interesting to see Maguire and Gyllenhaal play off each other. Are you ready for a little Jake and Tobey?

Warner Bros. is wicked smart: They looked and they said, "What's some of the hottest stuff out there right now that we don't have?" The answers: Giant f**king robots and Tobey f**king Maguire. And so Warner Bros. did what they do best -- they went out and picked up the rights to the anime classic Robotech, brought Maguire on to produce through his Maguire Entertainment and are currently seducing him into starring in the lead role. Better yet -- they're also eying this as their next tentpole sci-fi franchise. Whether or not this means Maguire will not reprise his role as Peter Parker in a Spider-Man 4 is hard to say; yet, if he does decide to star in the film (with plans on making it a franchise), I'd imagine chances of him donning the Spidey outfit for a fourth go-round are pretty slim.

I'm not too familiar with Robotech; The Hollywood Reporter tell us it was a "cartoon series during the 1980s from Harmony Gold USA and Tatsunoki Prods. It was re-edited and re-dialogued to combine three Japanese anime series to give the producers enough episodes to air as a daily syndicated series." The story apparently takes place during a time when the Earth has used alien technology to create giant robots in order to use as defense against three successive waves of alien invasions. Giant robots versus aliens, with Tobey Maguire using his small-town charms to kick tons of ass? Yup, I dig it. Craig Zahler will write the script, although there's no indication whether Warners will want to go live-action with this or stick with something in the CGI realm. Which would you rather see: Tobey in Robotech, Tobey in Spidey 4 or Tobey in both?