Who Will Direct the Next Spider-Man?

On this week’s Slice of SciFi, we’ll bring you news about the collapse of “Spider-Man 4” and what’s in store for the future of the franchise, including information on the proposed reboot of the wall-crawler for 2012.

And with a reboot, comes word on the list of potential replacements for Sam Raimi as the helmer for the project.

USA Today has a list today of potential replacements.

•Peter Jackson. After his Lord of the Rings trilogy, Jackson has become Lord of the Nerds. A long shot, as Jackson seems committed to staying in J.R. Tolkien’s world.

•James Cameron. He initially wrote a draft of Spider-Man that the studios passed on in the early 1990s. Had his sci-fi opus Avatar flopped, this might not have been far-fetched. Now, though, the director will look to franchise that property.

•Neill Blomkamp. The director of District 9 is already a cult hero among sci-fi geeks and is a Jackson protégé. “He’s proven he can handle action and effects laced with deep emotional and thematic elements,” Butler says.

•David Fincher. The director of Seven and Zodiac was passed over for Raimi in 2002. “He’s a guy fans are wondering, ‘What if,’ ” Worley says.

•Guillermo del Toro. The Pan’s Labyrinth filmmaker has as avid a following as Raimi.

Unfortunately, while all of these are good choices, none of them will bring the passion to the project that Raimi had. Watching the first two installments, you can see the enthusiasm Raimi had for Spidey and his world in every frame. And anyone hired for the next vision will have to contend with a studio that will want whoever directs to rubber stamp all their decisions, no matter how ill-advised they may be. If you have any doubts, just catch a showing of “Spider-Man 3” on cable.

If you want to hear our story and take on these developments, tune in to the live feed Thursday evening or catch our new episode when it goes live Saturday morning.