David Lindsay-Abaire, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his play RABBIT HOLE, is in final negotiations to write Columbia's SPIDER-MAN 4, reports THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.
Sam Raimi is already confirmed to direct, with Tobey Maguire to star. Series producers Laura Ziskin and Avi Arad are also on board, with star Kirsten Dunst expected to also return.
Columbia did not comment on the deal for the fourth installment featuring the Marvel Comics character, and plot details are highly secret.
Unconventional writers have been the norm for Columbia in choosing its SPIDEY scribes. PAPER MOON and ORDINARY PEOPLE writer Alvin Sargent wrote on the second and third films and fellow Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Chabon worked on SPIDER-MAN 2.
Lindsay-Abaire has said before that his plays tend to be "peopled with outsiders in search of clarity," making him an ideal choice to pen the character of ultimate outsider Peter Parker. Filmmakers are likely to re-focus on the characters in the fourth installment, something missing from the third go-around.
Lindsay-Abaire is currently working on writing the book and lyrics for the Broadway musical SHREK. He's also adapting RABBIT for 20th Century Fox for Nicole Kidman to star.
