Sony decided to move forward with Venom, a likely Spider-man spinoff based on a horrific guy.  The project stems from the gooey nemesis that appeared in Spider-man 3. The plan is to create a franchise like Wolverine grew from X-men.

As you will recall In Spider-Man 3, Venom is basically a parasite that attaches itself to a host via a sticky substance that then gives the host special powers.

Sony is creating a fourth Spider-Man movie for 2011.