The Amazing Spider-Man sequel will arrive May 2014

Sony has announced that the sequel to next year's The Amazing Spider-Man will arrive on 2 May 2014.

We heard a few months back that writer James Vanderbilt (whose other work includes Zodiac , The Losers and the Total Recall remake) had been set to work on a sequel script, but this release date is a display of almost-tangible confidence.

The rebooted take on the webslinger stars Brit Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy and Rhys Ifans as Dr Curt Connors (AKA The Lizard).

While Garfield and Stone are said to be contractually committed to a sequel, it's not yet know if director Marc Webb ( 500 Days Of Summer ) will return. Although, given the positive buzz surrounding his efforts so far, we'd be surprised if he bowed out so soon.

The footage shown at Comic-Con was extremely impressive, showcasing Ifans as what could be the franchise's best villain yet.

Expect sequel speculation to go into overdrive, which feels a little odd considering we have to wait almost a year to see the first part.

The trailer seemed to convince a lot of doubters, so here it is if you want another look at it:

The Amazing Spider-Man will open on 3 July 2012.

Matt Maytum is the former Editor of Total Film magazine. Over the past decade, Matt has worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.