Amazing Spider-man 3 and 4 set for 2016 and 2018 target dates

Sony's reboot of the Spider-man franchise may not be a very good movie, but it did manage to rake in the box office numbers, enough to fuel the urge for a sequel, and continue with their rebooted direction. And while it makes that much money, you can be sure that there will be more Spider-man sequels off this rebooted continuity.

Amazing Spider-man 2 is currently in production, and is slated to be released May 2014. The producers (and Sony) are expressing optimism on their superhero franchise, that they have locked on to set two (2) more films; Amazing Spider-man 3 and Spider-man 4; and have set their target release dates on June 10, 2016, and on May 4, 2018, respectively. [read full article after the jump]

Sony Pictures Entertainment has marked these release dates, as was announced by Jeff Blake, Chairman, Worldwide Marketing and Distribution for Sony Pictures, saying:
“Spider-Man is our most important, most successful, and most beloved franchise, so we’re thrilled that we are in a position to lock in these prime release dates over the next five years.”

Here’s the official synopsis for The Amazing Spider-Man 2:
In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, for Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), life is busy – between taking out the bad guys as Spider-Man and spending time with the person he loves, Gwen (Emma Stone), high school graduation can’t come quickly enough. Peter hasn’t forgotten about the promise he made to Gwen’s father to protect her by staying away – but that’s a promise he just can’t keep. Things will change for Peter when a new villain, Electro (Jamie Foxx), emerges, an old friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), returns, and Peter uncovers new clues about his past. Marc Webb returns to direct this sequel, and is written by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and Jeff Pinkner.

We already know that part 2 will feature Electro and the Rhino as villains, with Harry Osborn being introduced and Norman Osborn being teased in the last movie. What will the future hold for Spider-man in the other sequels? Will we be seeing Spidey face Green Goblin, the vulture, or Venom? Will these movies follow the fate of Gwen Stacy as is in the comics? Feel free to speculate in the comments below. Me, on the other hand, I am quietly wishing they'd undo this (for me) awful reboot of this franchise.