Did you like Spider-Man 3? Sucker.

OK, we can’t hold it against you. There’s some googly-eyed Sam Raimi ridiculousness going on in there that fares the loathed entry better than most of its ilk. Sure there was far too much going on and the studio’s insistence of shoe-horning Venom into the mix only served to dilute and make the whole thing ridiculous. That was because A) Raimi is a classic Spider-Man enthusiast who understands the old villains (Sandman, Doctor Octopus, The Green Goblin) but didn’t really “get” the more recent Venom and B) trying to marry a studios insisted vision with your own can often end badly. Such was the case for Spider-Man 3 and Raimi don’t want no Spider-Man 3.

Still, the studio (rightly so) wanted Raimi back for Spider-Man 4 and spent gobs to get him. But recently, problems are percolating, threatening to judo-chop the shooting schedule and May 6, 2011 release date right in the tenderloin. Apparently, Raimi wants Spider-Man 4‘s villain to be The Vulture. The studio, in their ever present quest for marketability and sexiness, is pushing for another sub-plot romance with the character “Black Cat” and wants any villain but the Vulture. Plot massaging and various writers haven’t been able to make peace with it all and subsequently? Constipation!

Disagreements like this aren’t uncommon for collaborative projects, but to Sony I say,”Muzzle it”. When given free reign, Raimi created a money-magnet franchise entry and one of the best sequels of all time (and a fine movie to boot) in Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2. When forced to meddle and acquiesce, Raimi created a soggy-plotted cluster of suffocation in Spider-Man 3. You paid to get Raimi back. Trust your man, trust that The Vulture will work and let’s get crackin’.