Just days after Sony Pictures revealed that they were postponing production on "Spider-Man 4", due to creative concerns, the studio announced Monday (January 11) that the original fourth installment of the saga would be scrapped, so they could overhaul it entirely ... that is, without director Sam Raimi or star Tobey Maguire.

"Spider-Man 4" was initially due to hit theaters in 2011, but now, it is scheduled to premiere in the summer of 2012.

In a statement, Sony said the new fourth film will focus "on a teenager grappling with both contemporary human problems and amazing super-human crises."

It is currently being written by James Vanderbilt ("Zodiac" and "The Rundown"), but the studio has yet to announce who would would be its star or director. Producers will be "Spider-Man" veterans Laura Ziskin and Avi Arad of Marvel Studios.

"This is a bittersweet moment for us because while it is hard to imagine Spider-Man in anyone else's hands, I know that this was a day that was inevitable," Matt Tolmach, president of Columbia Pictures, said in a statement.

"Working on the Spider-Man movies was the experience of a lifetime for me," Raimi added in his own statement. "While we were looking forward to doing a fourth one together, the studio and Marvel have a unique opportunity to take the franchise in a new direction, and I know they will do a terrific job."

According to MTV, earlier reports pegged the choice of villain as one of the primary obstacles to "Spider-Man 4" production, as Raimi and the studio differing over potential casting that, most recently, included John Malkovich as winged villain the Vulture.

Sony promises further updates regarding the film's new plans in the near future. Stay tuned...