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Spider-Man 3 is the third movie in the Spider-Man series and it is planned for a release on May 4th, 2007. The movie will be directed by Sam Raimi. Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Dylan Baker, and J.K. Simmons are the confirmed returning cast members from the previous two Spider-Man movies.

Columbia Pictures officially announced that the main filming for Spider-Man 3 had started on January 2nd, 2006, however certain preliminary test photography was said to have begun as early as September 2005.

Filming began November 5th, 2005. If the reported $250 million budget is true, Spider-Man 3 will be the most expensive film ever made in non-adjusted U.S. dollars, breaking King Kong's record of $207 million USD budget.

A portion of the film's (set in New York) downtown scenes were filmed in downtown Cleveland, Ohio in April 2006.

New actors

Thomas Haden Church, who starred in the movie Sideways as well as George of the Jungle as Lyle, and Topher Grace, known for his lead role in the sitcom That '70s Show and his co-starring role in In Good Company, are two new actors being cast, both as antagonists in the new film.

Thomas Haden Church will play the character of Flint Marko aka Sandman, and Topher Grace's character has yet to be officially announced, however due to Dunst's "leaking" of the villains, he is speculated to be playing Eddie Brock/Venom. But nothing has officially been announced.

Bryce Dallas Howard (daughter of Ron Howard) will also make her debut in the third film as Gwen Stacy - Spider-Man's first serious girlfriend in the comic book series. James Cromwell will appear in the film as Gwen's father, Police Captain George Stacy.

Official announcements

• Sony Pictures has released an official gallery for the villain candidates on the movie website. The gallery's frontpage says:

"There has been a lot of speculation about who the villains will be in the upcoming SPIDER MAN 3. We're not going to spoil your fun but here are some of the candidates."

The site then goes on to list: Carnage, Chameleon, Doctor Octopus, Electro, Green Goblin, Hobgoblin, Hydro-Man, Kraven The Hunter, Jackal, Lizard, Mysterio, Rhino, Sandman, Scorpion, Venom and Vulture.

• On November 5th, 2005 Thomas Haden Church was officially cast as the villain Sandman along with the first image from Spider-Man 3.

• On February 23rd, 2006, A photo was shown on SuperHeroHype.com of Spider-Man in what appears to be a black costume. Later that day, the official web site updates confirming the authenticity of the photo by placing it on the cover of the Daily Bugle with the head line "SPIDER-MAN IS WEARING A BLACK SUIT!". At the bottom of the page it states,"You may think you are looking at a black and white photo. Look closely. Spider-Man wears a black suit in Spider-Man 3", all in block capitals.

Possible villains, characters and storylines

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Topher Grace and Thomas Haden Church

"Spider-Man will face double the trouble in our next film and I couldn't be more excited about the direction we are taking Peter Parker and the franchise," said Raimi. "Topher Grace is an extraordinarily talented actor and will be perfect for the complexities of the role we are developing." Sam Raimi also let slip that one or both villains would involve massive, mind-bending CGI. Raimi stated that the film might have been released in 2006 were it not for the tremendous amount of post-production work needed to perfect the CGI.

Raimi has been vague about Grace's role, stating only that Topher Grace will play "a complex role" which will contrast with the comedic, wholesome, or good-natured roles he's most known for playing. That is one of the reasons why many believe that he will be playing Eddie Brock, better known as Venom. The release of the photograph of Spider-Man in a black costume (see picture on top right) has strengthed this opinion as the black costume is an essential element of the Venom story arc. Contradicting this is the fact that Sam Raimi has previously stated he dislikes the Venom character and claimed that as long as he's directing Spider-Man movies, Venom will never be in one. He could have, of course, changed his mind or lied. Some fans will recall his reply to the question of Doc Ock being in Spider-Man 2 in an older interview being similar to his reply for the possibility of Venom. But it is very likely that Raimi will reveal some sort of confirmation of Grace's role in the future, possibly at the 2006 Comic-Con. Church stated in an interview with Starburst Magazine, found on SuperHeroHype.com, that Grace's role would be more of a "real guy", throughout the film, and that "he doesn't become a villain until the end".

At a recent press conference, Kirsten Dunst, the lead female actress who plays Mary Jane Watson in the franchise, claimed Thomas Haden Church will be playing Sandman, and Topher Grace will be playing Venom. She also claimed that there would be "two and a half bad guys", and that one of them would be "resurrected", which suggests either Doctor Octopus or, more likely, the Green Goblin (in some form) would return for the third film. Green Goblin is a possibility for James Franco, because Franco claimed he went in for a lot of FX Makeup. The only thing confirmed so far is Church being Sandman. Sony has recently released a picture of Church on the official movie website as Sandman, visually confirming his role in the film, but Sony has yet to release an official statement corroborating or denying Dunst's claim of Grace's role as Venom. Dunst admitted that she had not read the script at the time of the press conference. In the past, she has also "confirmed" villains appearing in Spider-Man 2. Of these villains (Doctor Octopus and The Lizard) only Doctor Octopus appeared, though the Lizard was slated for the movie, he was removed (unless one counts the cameo of not-yet-The-Lizard, Dr. Curt Connors), thus the veracity of her claims are still under some dispute. Recently Grace has been sporting blond hair which has been officially confirmed as his new look for Spider-Man 3. The villain in the Spider-Man comics known as Venom has blonde hair, leading many fans to suspect that Venom is involved in the sequel as well.

Variety's Michael Fleming has claimed that Grace will indeed be playing Venom. This has been a source of great controversy among fans, with many objecting to the casting of Grace as Venom on the grounds that Grace simply does not have the intensity to properly portray the vicious character. Nevertheless, many seasoned Spider-Man fans are aware of the ongoing alternate universe known as "Ultimate Spider-Man," which contextualized the life of Peter Parker and his conversion to the superhero Spider-Man for the contemporary generation. In this variation of the story, Eddie Brock Jr. - who more closely resembles Topher Grace's stature and new blonde hair - is a boyhood friend of Parker's who eventually dons the persona of Venom, albeit with a non-alien origin. It is likely that a movie version of Venom will also eschew the traditional Venom's origin, due to the intricate nature of how Eddie Brock transformed from a successful journalist to the villainous avenger.

In an interview with writer Gregory Ellwood of the MSN Movies and Entertainment website , Thomas Haden Church has confirmed that the character Venom does appear in the film, although no mention of Topher Grace playing that character was stated.

Also, in a recent set pictures from Cleveland (http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d51/powderman_222/hole.gif), a scene involving an armored truck, and possibly Sandman, there is a number on the roof of the truck. The number could symbolize the introduction of Venom, seeing as it is the same number as the date in which Venom first appeared in the comics.

James Franco

James Franco's character, Harry Osborn, is expected to be the second Green Goblin. Harry Osborn becomes the Green Goblin in most comic book adaptations in which he is featured, although he was the Hobgoblin in one Ultimate Spider-Man adaptation. The first Green Goblin, played by Willem Dafoe, was the villain in the first movie and was also the father of Franco's character. Director Sam Raimi has stated that this movie will stray the most from the comic books and has hinted at the possibility that Franco may not become a supervillain at all. Rumors have surfaced of Harry becoming a "good Goblin" shortly before dying at the end of the film. It has also been confirmed by Franco that this will be the last Spider-Man movie his character will be in.

Dylan Baker

The Lizard was once considered the most likely villain due to the appearance in Spider-Man 2 of Dr. Curt Connors, played by Dylan Baker, who becomes The Lizard in the Spider-Man comics. However, Baker was not immediately signed for the third film while other actors were sought and signed first, which might indicate that the filling the role of Connors/The Lizard is not imperative. There is also concern that another sympathetic "mad scientist" villain in the third movie might seem repetitive after both the Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus. However, Avi Arad, CEO of Marvel Comics, confirmed in June 2005 that Baker is signed to this movie. There is some small thought that Dr. Connors will be helping Spider-Man stop the bonding process from the Symbiote and capture it for a brief period of time before it gets to Eddie Brock, rumored to be played by Topher Grace.

Bryce Dallas Howard

As of January 18th, 2006, Bryce Dallas Howard has been signed to appear in a major role in Spider-Man 3. She has been reported to be portraying Spider-Man's first real girlfriend in the comics, Gwen Stacy. A recent appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (Howard with freshly-dyed, long blonde hair) further confirms the casting. The Hollywood Reporter reports that Gwen will be the third part of a love triangle in the film and, perhaps more importantly, will survive. More information can be found at . This information is also given during the Introduction in the Spider-Man 2 PS2 game.

Bruce Campbell

Fans have been wondering what role Bruce would be playing in this Spider-Man movie (Spider-Man, ring announcer and Spider-Man 2, rude usher). Many reports rumored that he would be playing as another 'annoying character'. But in a recent interview which was subsequently removed at the request of SONY , they were told that Bruce Campbell would be playing as Quentin Beck (who in the comics is Mysterio). Whether or not he'll be playing as the villain Mysterio for a future Spider-Man movie or if it's just a cameo like Dr. Curt Connors (comics - Lizard) and John Jameson (comics - Man-Wolf) is unknown, but it is hoped by fans he will play both Quentin Beck and then Mysterio. Although the interview was fan made, the poster contends that there were elements of the interview that did not originate from him.

James Cromwell

Joining the cast is James Cromwell who has been confirmed to play Gwen Stacy's father, George Stacy. In the comics, George is the retired chief of the New York Police and approves of Peter's and Gwen's relationship, but George is killed by saving a boy from some falling rubble and dies in the rescue. Whether or not this will happen to Cromwell's character in the movie is unknown.

Daniel Gillies

John Jameson in Spider-Man 2 returns to reprise the role. In the comics, John finds an odd jewel on the moon which transforms him into the Man-Wolf. In the film, John already has the jewel, meaning he could already have the ability to transform into the Man-Wolf. In Spider-Man 2, there were several references to the Man-Wolf including Gillies making an unearthly leap from a dock down to a boat. While the Man-Wolf is a minor villain, he has recently been re-appearing in the comics, which might mean he could appear in a future film.

Elizabeth Banks

According to Superherohype.com, Elizabeth Banks will return to reprise her role as Betty Brant in Spider-Man 3. She told SCI FI Wire she's "still not sure how much of her character will remain in the final cut of the movie", and she urged journalists to remind Sam Raimi that she was Peter Parker's first love interest, according to the comic-book history.

Cameos

• The Amazing Spider-Man TV star Nicholas Hammond (who was the first actor to portray a live-action Spider-Man) is rumored to have a cameo role in the third movie.
• Stan Lee will most likely have, as in the previous films, quick cameos. In most of the Marvel Comic movies, Stan Lee has had a cameo. Almost every movie he has had some credit on the creation of he has had a cameo.
• Chris Tucker is rumored to have a cameo appearance as a cab driver.
• Sam Raimi may also possibly have a short cameo, as in Spider-Man 2.
• Cliff Robertson will reprise his role as Uncle Ben, presumably in a flashback sequence, as in Spider-Man 2.

Film score

Composer Danny Elfman has confirmed that he will not be back for the third installment of Spider-Man, due to difficulties with director Sam Raimi. , and instead he will be working on the movie Charlotte's Web. The film will instead be scored by Christopher Young, , however Elfman's theme will still be adapted for the third film, as Sam Raimi owns the rights to it.

Cast

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External links

• Official Spider-Man Movie Network
• Official Spider-Man 3 Teaser Site
• Official Spider-Man movie message boards
• Spyder-25.com :: Ultimate Resource For Spider-Man Fans
• Spider-Man Crawl Space
• Spider-Man 3 at IMDb
• Template:Shh
• Spiderman 3 Rotten Tomatoes
• Spiderman 3 Contains cast and plot summary
• Spiderman 3

• 2007 films
• Marvel Comics movies
• Spider-Man
• Sequel films
• Films directed by Sam Raimi
• Spider-Man films