Remember this little story from back in March, where we reported on Amazing Spider-Man writer James Vanderbilt being hired to start writing the sequel? We snarked that it was only a matter of time – likely just after the film comes out – before Sony announced a release date. Turns out we didn’t even exaggerate! Why? The studio has announced a date for the sequel while the first movie is still months away from arriving.

In what appears to be a huge vote of confidence in Vanderbilt, Mark Webb, Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and the rest of the Spider-cast and crew, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (or whatever it ends up being called) will hit cinemas on May 2, 2014. That’s less than two years after the original arrives.

And while there wasn’t much of a press release about the date, a Sony spokesbod did say that it “speaks volumes” about Webb’s effort.

Having sneaked a look at some footage at Comic-Con, we have to admit that we thought it looked pretty nifty, though the real test will come with the finished film.

With Garfield, Stone, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen, Sally Field, Irrfan Kahn, Campbell Scott, and Julianne Nicholson among the cast, The Amazing Spider-Man will arrive on July 6 next year. Expect the third and fourth films – to be shot together, no doubt – to be announced next week. And the second reboot? Next year. Kidding!*

_{*Or are we?}