Further signs that Sam Raimi may not return for a fourth Spider-Man movie, aside from his directorial work on the upcoming horror flick Drag Me to Hell, is today's announcement that he's in talks to direct a series of films for a new franchise - Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, who's been played by Alec Baldwin in The Hunt for Red October, Harrison Ford in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, as well as Ben Affleck in The Sum of All Fears.
The idea for the franchise relaunch would be to put Ryan at an early point in his career, before he became the hardened CIA chief Ford played, or even the younger buck Affleck portrayed. Any potential plot is still being spitballed, as Clancy finishes a new Jack Ryan novel and they debate whether or not to set it in the present day.
It wouldn't necessarily exclude Raimi from working on Spider-Man 4, but how many people can juggle two giant film franchises? My guess is that Sam's done with the web-head, much to our continuing sadness. But I guess we'll get to see some political intrigue and explosions in exchange.
