Deadline.com says that Martin Sheen (THE DEAD ZONE, WEST WING) is set to take on the role of Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben in Sony/ Columbia’s Spider-Man reboot movie.
It also states that Sally Field (FOREST GUMP, THE FLYING NUN) is in talks to play Aunt May.
This would tend to support the notion that the movie will spend a good deal of time re-telling Spider-Man’s origin story. This was pretty much inevitable, once it was learned that Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) is supposed to be a 
high school student in the new film.
Note: The Hollywood Reporter was somewhat more cautious, saying Martin Sheen was in “final negotiations” to play Uncle Ben in the as yet untitled film.
Production on the 3D film starts in December, under the aptly-named director Marc Webb.