HOLLYWOOD - Columbia Pictures has snagged Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon to rewrite the sequel to the summer box office hit Spider-Man. According to Variety, the deal is potentially worth in the mid-seven figures.The Amazing Spider-Man is set to begin shooting early next year and is scheduled for release May 7, 2004. Stars Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire have already inked deals with the studio to reprise their roles. Director Sam Raimi and producers Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad and Ian Bryce have also come on board for the sequel.
Originally, scribes Alfred Gough and Miles Millar were hired to pen the script, and David Koepp--who received sole screenplay credit for the first film--also wrote a draft.
Although the story is still in the making, comic stalwart Doctor Octopus, The Lizard and Black Cat are all expected to appear in the sequel.
Chabon won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2001 for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. The novel, which has been adapted for producer Scott Rudin, tells the story of an immigrant Jewish artist who partners with his Brooklyn cousin to create comic books, drawing from their own fears and dreams to invent villains and heroes.
Chabon, however, is no stranger to Hollywood. His short story collection Tales of Mystery and Imagination has already been optioned by Miramax, which is also developing a feature based on Chabon's children's novel Summerland. His next novel, Hatzelpatz, has been optioned by Rudin, with the Pulitzer-winner slated to pen the adaptation.