Tobey Maguire is still Spider-Man. And that ticks off Jake Gyllenhaal.
See, Gyllenhaal almost took over the superhero role in 2003 when Maguire's bum back had him sidelined. Maguire healed. Gyllenhaal still stews.
"People have very often said to me that I look like Tobey," Gyllehaal laughingly told us at the weekend press junket for their new film, Brothers, in which they play—yes—brothers. "To all those cab drivers in New York, I'm not Spider-Man!"
As for the guy who is Spidey, Maguire insisted there's no ill will between him and Gyllenhaal over the near-replacement in the big-bucks franchise.
"I got really excited about the idea of working with these guys [Gyllenhaal, costar Natalie Portman and director Jim Sheridan]," he said of the new Oscar-baiting sibling-rivalry drama, due out Dec. 3.
But inquiring minds really wanted scoop on Spider-Man 4. And this is what Maguire told us.
"In February or March we're going start [shooting]," he said of the sequel, set to hit theaters in 2011. But he was less forthcoming when asked about any plot spoilers and completely mum on the rumored villains (Dylan Baker as the Lizard? Rachel McAdams as Black Cat? What's the big role Bruce Campbell hinted at?).
Maguire did confirm that he is developing a big-screen version of the classic Japanese anime series Robotech with Warner Bros.
"We're working on it," he said. Smallville scribes Alfred Gough and Miles Millar are cranking on the script, and Maguire may star, as well as produce.
But first, he will be working the Brothers publicity trail with Portman and doppelgänger Gyllenhaal.
Or as Gyllenhaal put it: "We really just made the movie so I could say I look a little different than Tobey."
Maybe it will shut up those cabbies.
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Brothers not your cup of tea? Take a gander at Jake Gyllenhaal in Prince of Persia along with other Movies From the Future!