Sony has announced that 26-year-old British actor Andrew Garfield will play Spider-man in the next release of the film franchise.

Garfield's previous credits include 'The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus' in a small role. The upcoming film entitled 'The Amazing Spiderman' will be shot in 3D and has yet to be made. After three sequels director Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire have left the franchise.

Superhero movies have become more prevalent in recent years due their rising popularity with family audiences, and with 3D becoming mainstream, this could be the franchise's biggest hit yet.

Audiences will have to wait and see whether this relatively unknown actor can take on the iconic role of Peter Parker, but the film is reportedly set in his formative years.

Director Marc Webb will helm the new Spider-man installment. Andrew Garfield was a favourite to play Peter Parker and has previously won Best Actor at the 2008 BAFTAs for Boy A, a Channel 4 drama. Garfield will also appear in David Fincher's upcoming project, The Social Network , based on the early days of facebook.