"The Amazing Spider-Man" has been a welcome financial success for Sony -- the film has earned over $530 million worldwide thus far -- but in some quarters it was criticized for not being very coherent. As Devin Faraci pointed out on his site Badass Digest, whole chunks of storyline that Sony used while marketing "The Amazing Spider-Man" were not present in the actual finished film.

"It's completely false," director Marc Webb told HuffPost Entertainment when asked about jettisoning a rumored storyline about Peter Parker's parents. While that may very well be accurate, it's clear that Webb had quite an grueling time while making "The Amazing Spider-Man."

"I want to finish this up and go to a beach and think about the future," Webb said when asked about returning for another Spider-Man film. "People ask about the sequel and I'm like, 'Well, you know, I don't know if I want to do that, but I love the process.' I love Andrew and Emma. But it's like asking someone who has just given birth, 'Do you want to get pregnant again?'"

Now it appears Webb may not even have that option.

"We'd really like him back, but there are obstacles," Sony Pictures chief Douglas Belgrad told The Hollywood Reporter. "He has an obligation to Fox." As THR notes, Webb is under contract with Fox to deliver another film for the studio, following "(500) Days of Summer," his first film.

Of course, when asked about any "problem areas" with Webb's blockbuster, Belgrad was pretty honest. "The section where Rhys Ifans' character turns irrevocably into the Lizard. It took several months to figure out, and the filmmakers cut a bunch of scenes. In software parlance, it required a patch."

With or without Webb, Sony is going full-steam ahead with "The Amazing Spider-Man 2"; bockbuster writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci ("Transformers," "Star Trek") have come onboard for the sequel.