With Spidey senses tingling in anticipation of the webslinger’s big-screen reboot, stars Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone sat down for a press conference in Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday and offered up some tantalizing clues as to what Peter Parker, his arachnid alter ego and moviegoers can look forward to in The Amazing Spider-Man.

Here’s what they, along with the film’s producer Avi Arad, had to say:

1. Just call him Little Orphan Spidey: While the Sam Raimi-directed trilogy starring Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Kirsten Dunst as love interest Mary Jane Watson gave moviegoers a worthy origin story in 2002′s Spider-Man, Arad said there are plenty more tales from Stan Lee’s Marvel canon left untold, first and foremost a chronicle about where Peter came from.

“After three movies, we finally got the opportunity to tell what really started Peter Parker on his journey. The fact that he lost his parents. He doesn’t know what happened to them. No one talks about them,” the producer told reporters. “So we found a very, very good story about the true origin of what makes a human being, what sets their destiny.”

2. The Lizard is a link to Parker’s past: Parker’s heritage was left unexplored in Raimi’s series, which dealt more with the theme best expressed in Uncle Ben’s mantra, “with great powers come great responsibility,” words Spidey learned to live by. In the new installment, the emphasis will be on Parker’s journey of self-discovery beginning with Dr. Curt Connors, played here by Rhys Ifans, who doubles as The Amazing Spider-Man‘s prime villain, the Lizard, and is the key to unlocking the mystery to Peter’s parents, or at least what happened to his father.

“In the great tradition of a novel, Dr. Connor will be connected to Peter Parker,” reveals Arad. “Right there, the challenge in dealing with the villain who is also the mentor is [that he's] the only one you can look at and say ‘what really happened to my dad.’ That’s really hard to find.”

3. 500 Days of Webslinging: Producers felt they needed a director who could pack an emotional punch, not just a big effects wiz. Enter the aptly named Marc Webb, who had a knack for relationships, having helmed 500 Days of Summer. Along with bringing heart to the movie, he also “set it in the real world,” noted Arad. To facilitate that, he also brought in the legendary stunt team led by Andy Armstrong, veterans of the Indiana Jones and the James Bond movies, who tested Garfield physically.

“It was a great challenge and a lucky one,” recalled the actor. “A lot of the stunts are practical and grounded in reality and that was something Marc…really wanted to make sure happened in this movie and set it apart from previous ones…I had about four months of training…before we started doing any shooting where I’d exhaust myself every day and get into near-death experiences on the hour every hour.”

Garfield also had three stunt doubles who helped him think about Peter’s evolving body and “the idea that he has spider DNA running in his system, what that will do to the sensitivity of his skin.”

Sticking to Webb’s practical vision, unlike Raimi’s version where Spidey had webs shooting genetically out of his wrists, the web-spinning in The Amazing Spider-Man comes via mechanical devices the ever-handy Parker designed himself.

4. Sorry, Mary Jane. Peter’s true love is…really Gwen Stacy: That’s the position Amazing Spider-Man is taking at any rate. Marvel geeks have long debated which of the two gals truly has won Peter’s heart. In the comics, Stacy was introduced as a secondary character whom Parker meets in college and her eventual death at the hands of the Green Goblin spurs Peter and Mary Jane’s romance. For the film, however, the screenwriters have elevated Stacy to a place some fanboys say is long deserved, not only as a love interest to Parker but a real intellectual friend and rival.

On the differences between her Stacy and Bryce Dallas Howard’s take on the character in Spider-Man 3, Stone said: “[Howard's version] wasn’t in high school, she wasn’t Peter’s first love, she was kind of coming between Mary Jane and Peter Parker. [In the new movie] we haven’t even met Mary Jane at this point.”

5. Gwen and Peter will kiss—though how is, uh, up in the air: When asked if The Amazing Spider-Man will try to create an iconic moment such as the upside down kiss Maguire had with Dunst in the first flick, Stone demurred.

“You don’t want to know. You wanna watch the movie and find out,” said the actress, “but there is a nice first kiss and it’s different than the upside down one and we liked it.”

If all goes according to plan, audiences will be head over heels.

The Amazing Spider-Man premieres first in Japan on June 30 before unspooling in the U.S. on July 3.

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The studio announced on Friday that Andrew Garfield, star of the upcoming superhero-movie reboot “The Amazing Spider-Man,” will be on hand for the annual convention, which takes place July 21-24 in San Diego.

Garfield, who’s inheriting the role of heroic web-slinger Spider-Man from Tobey Maguire, will be joined by his co-star Emma Stone, director Marc Webb and producer Avi Arad for a panel on the movie on Friday, July 22. (The movie is slated for a July 3, 2012 release.)

On Friday, Sony is also presenting panels on the sequel “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” — which will be attended by star Nicolas Cage and directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, among others — and the remake “Total Recall,” for which Kate Beckinsale, Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel and Bryan Cranston will be present.

On the comedy front, the upcoming Jesse Eisenberg film “30 Minutes or Less” — about a pizza delivery man (Eisenberg) who’s abducted and forced to commit a bank robbery — will also have a panel.

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The actor, who portrays Peter Parker’s father-figure Uncle Ben in the film, has praised Garfield for his politeness and demeanour.

“I’m dealing with this adolescent who is having problems with changes, with hormones changing and his getting out of hand,” Sheen explained, according to Hey U Guys. “It’s all very normal. And the guy playing him is wonderful.”

Sheen revealed that Garfield had contacted him after they were cast so that they could meet and discuss ideas for their characters.

“I said, ‘Who are you?’, and he said, ‘I’m playing your nephew’. I said, ‘You’re Spider-Man!’” Sheen recounted. “And we met for lunch and he was delightful. We had a wonderful time.”

Sheen also confirmed that Marc Webb’s adaptation will remain true to the comic books and that his own character would die relatively early on in the film.

The Amazing Spider-Man will be released in cinemas on July 3, 2012.

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Andrew said the suit felt “tight and airy. The material is very cool, it lets air through.”

He also shared that he is enjoying working with his co-star Emma Stone.

“I really do like Emma, she’s a pretty special actress and a pretty special person,” Andrew said. “One of the funnier people and one of the more fun loving people I know. I’m so glad that she’s there on set. It’s really fun.”

While he’s garnering Oscar buzz for his role in The Social Network, Andrew said he will not be waking up to hear the Oscar nominations announcement.

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“My mum would be, ‘Yes, yes, you have lovely hair,’” Garfield says, laughing, while looking at the magazine. “I’m really flattered that these guys have noticed the work it takes to control a lion’s mane on a human head.”

Garfield, 27, was born in Los Angeles and raised in Surrey, England. He has a slim build and a quick wit that he hasn’t yet been able to exploit in any of his film roles. But there’s plenty of time. Meanwhile, playing Eduardo Saverin, the young man who bankrolled and was ultimately betrayed by Mark Zuckerberg (played by Jesse Eisenberg) in “The Social Network,” Garfield provides the movie with a necessary decency in the crucial role of empathetic observer. It’s a subtle, commanding performance, worthy of all the attention.

We spoke recently to the well-groomed Garfield just as he was about to return to London and his family for the holidays:

You’ve made a number of fine movies, but “The Social Network” is the first to hit commercially.

I’ve learned you can’t second-guess these things. The first film I did was “Lions for Lambs” with Robert Redford directing and Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise starring. It was a very worthy script, and I thought, “This is literally going to define our time.” And the film didn’t do well at all. People hated it, to be honest.

True. But it was nothing personal.

Thank you. What happens after you make a movie can’t really matter, but that’s easy to say, more difficult to practice. “The Social Network” was the first time I’ve been able to come away from the process deeply gratified and fulfilled.

Knowing director David Fincher’s penchant for perfectionism, it was probably a longer process than you’ve ever had.

I remember speaking to Jesse before we started shooting, and we were both really concerned. “I like the first take. It’s usually the best. You’re raw. You’re going on adrenaline.” So we went in with a preconceived notion about how negative the experience was going to be.

But you came out a convert?

Yes, because what David affords actors is freedom and not having to get it right. By focusing on getting it right, you’re going to do something tight or pedestrian because you’re trying to hit something in a way you deem correct. David makes you go again and again until you trip up and something spontaneous happens. In not having to get it right, you get it right.

What was your record for repeated takes?

Somewhere in the 70s. But that first scene between Jesse and (Mara) Rooney … 99 takes.

I imagine it won’t be hard to find an audience for your next movie … the Spider-Man reboot.

(Laughs) What if no one sees it? It’d be hilarious. Maybe there’ll be boycotters. My self-sabotaging makes me want to head the boycott.

But this is the role you’ve played since you were a child.

Yes. On Halloween. Bedtimes. Tuesdays. When I was auditioning, my parents sent me a photo of me as a kid in the Spider-Man costume. I gave it to my agent, and my agent slipped it to the studio as they were making their decision.

What skinny kid wouldn’t love that character? I can’t overstate enough when you start to actually identify what’s happened and you go, “Yeah, I did dream of being Spider-Man when I was a kid.” I’m trying not to lose my mind about it. But it’s not superficial to me. It’s not frothy or frivolous.

That sense of responsibility nicely dovetails into the character, doesn’t it?

Yes, the overriding theme of the comic is: With great power comes great responsibility. And, yes, I feel a huge sense of pressure and responsibility.

I didn’t mean to add to it.

Oh, my God. There’s no way you could add to it. It’s infinite and never-ending.

But … um … hopefully fun too, right?

(Laughs) We’re two weeks in. The first week was full of stunts, and I’ve never felt happier in my whole life. I’m all bruised and scratched up, and it feels really good. It’s just me throwing myself up against walls, which is incredibly fun and painful and testing my manhood. It’s a childhood fantasy I’m living out.

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The UK’s Garfield will likely be atop of this list in 2012, with him playing the new Spider-Man and all (in Marc Webb’s superhero reboot, due out next year), but 2011’s going to be super kind to him all the same. Garfield’s hot off the acclaimed “The Social Network”, one of the biggest Oscar contenders of the year, and also impressed critics with his recent performance in “Never Let Me Go”, but more so, his face – likely covered in red latex – is going to plastered across magazines, web sites and desktop backgrounds this year.