In a shocking development, the Spider-Man 4 movie has been scrapped and the franchise will be rebooted with a new film set to come out in 2012.

Here’s an excerpt from the AP story on Yahoo! News Philippines.

Tobey Maguire’s web-slinging days are behind him.

The 34-year-old actor and “Spider-Man” director Sam Raimi will not be returning to the superhero franchise next year. Instead, Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios announced Monday that a new “Spider-Man” film based on a script by James Vanderbilt that focuses on Peter Parker in high school would debut in the summer of 2012 with a new cast and filmmaking team.

“I am so proud of what we accomplished with the ‘Spider-Man’ franchise over the last decade,” Maguire said in a statement Monday. “Beyond the films themselves, I have formed some deep and lasting friendships. I am excited to see the next chapter unfold in this incredible story.”

While I’m disappointed, it actually makes sense because while the first two movies were great, the last installment was a letdown. So it might be better to go for a Spider-Man Begins, so to speak, and see a new take on Peter Parker’s high school years.

What do you think of this move?