Columbia Pictures' Spider¬Man® 2, the next installment in the adventure series that began with the 2002 blockbuster Spider-Man, swings into theat¬ers on June 30th, 2004.
Spider-Man®, a Marvel Enterprises/Laura Ziskin Pro¬duction, grossed more than $820 million worldwide and became the fifth highest gross¬ing movie in U.S. history. Spider-Man is based on the classic Marvel Comic book char¬acter.

For devoted fans and nonfans alike, the first Spider-¬Man film offered nothing less, and nothing more, than what you'd expect from a superhero blockbuster. Having proven his comic-book' savvy with the orig¬inal Darkman, director Sam Raimi brought ample energy and enthusiasm to Spidey's origin story, nicely establishing high-school nerd Peter Parker as a brainy outcast who reacts with appropriate euphoria, and well-tempered maturity, when a genetically-altered spider bites and transforms him into the amazingly agile, web-¬shooting Spider-Man.

Spider-Man 2 reunites the filmmakers and cast from the first film, including Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Rosemary Harris and J. K. Simmons, along with direc¬tor Sam Raimi, and producers Laura Ziskin and Marvel's Avi Arad. Stan Lee and Joseph M. Caracciolo serve as executive producers for Spider-Man 2, and Grant Curtis serves as the film's co-producer. Sam Raimi directs Spider-Man 2 from a screenplay by Alvin Sargent and Alfred Gough & Miles Millar and Michael Chabon, based on a story by David Koepp and Alfred Gough & Miles Millar.

In Spider-Man 2, the web¬-slinging superhero encounters a new nemesis, the villainous "Doc Ock," who will be por¬trayed by Alfred Molina (Frida, Identity).

Two years have passed, and the mild-mannered Peter Parker (Tobey Macguire) faces new challenges as he struggles with "the gift and the curse," desperately trying to balance his dual identities as the web-slinging superhero Spider-Man and his life as a college student.

Tormented by his secrets, Peter finds that his relationships with all those he holds dear are in danger of unraveling. His life-long yearning for M.J. (Kirsten Dunst) becomes even stronger as he fights the impulse to reveal his secret life and declare his love. His friendship with Harry Osborn (James Franco) is complicated by the young Osborn's bitterness over his father's death and his growing vendetta against Spider-Man. Even Peter's beloved Aunt May (Rosemary Harris), who has fallen on hard times after the death of Uncle Ben, begins to have doubts about her nephew. .

Peter's life is about to become even more complicated as he encounters a for¬midable new foe- Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina). Peter must use all the powers at his disposal to try to stop this diabolical madman in his octagonal tracks.

Director Sam Raimi and producers Laura Ziskin and Avi Arad lead a top creative team which includes Director of Photogra¬phy Bill Pope, ASC (The Matrix film series), Production Designer Neil Spisak (Spider¬Man, The Gift), editor Bob Murawski, (Spider-Man, The Gift), Visual Effects Supervisor John Dykstra, ASC (Spider-Man, Academy Award® winner for Star Wars) and Special Effects Supervisor John Frazier (Spider-Man, The Perfect Storm). The Executive Producers are Stan Lee and Joseph M. Caracciolo.

The studio plunked down a reported $200 million for Spider-Man 2, and execu¬tives confirmed that a third installment already is in the works. The third film, which will again include director Sam Raimi and stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, is slated to hit screens May 4, 2007.

In addition, Sony executives are looking at the possibility of as many as six Spider¬Man movies, which would make it second only to James Bond as an enduring action series. Those high hopes have been float¬ing around for years.

Spider-Man finished its the¬atrical run in 2002 - having netted spar¬kling reviews, $820 million worldwide and the fifth spot among all-time moneymak¬ers.

"We realized that we had set the bar extremely high with the first movie," says Avi Arad, head of Marvel Studios. "We decided that the best shot in the first movie would have to be the worst shot in the second one. Everything had to improve."

To do that, the producers took charge and in this sequel, Spider-Man, and the camera that follows him, moves much faster over streets and between skyscrapers. Large action set pieces are done to make Spider-Man 2 more action-oriented.

Also, the original film spent much of its time introducing characters, and now that that's com¬plete you can move right into a story that's more fresh and exciting without being bogged down in story set-up. Peter Parker is now two years older, and he's trying to deal with love, friend¬ships, living on his own. The film is poised to be funnier and sadder.

New York City is a also a big part of the comic books, and it's now a much bigger character in Spider-Man 2.

During the first film's reign at the box office, the Green Goblin was skewered by many comic ¬book fans who found the outfit lame and not like its comic roots. Now enter Dr. Otto Octavius, known to Spider-Man fans as Doctor Octopus or "Doc Ock," a humanitarian doctor who conducts an experiment that goes awry and ends up with four huge sqUid limbs fused to his spine.

Raimi knows he's risking offending comic-book devotees, and says that he learned to distance himself from fans after the original film. "I was checking the Internet, taking notes, driving myself crazy trying to make Spider-Man just like the comic book to please the fans," Raimi says.

"I realized I have to make the story that's true to my heart, and hopefully that will connect with them, too."

If Sony and Marvel Studios are worried about a similar fate befalling Spider-Man, they aren't showing any fear. They moved the film's opening day from July 2 to June 30 to take advantage of the holiday week.

"It's hard to explain how much everyone believes in the project," says Ziskin. "I'm trying to get my mind around the third film, and the studio is already looking ahead to the sixth, and the second one isn't out yet. But I believe Spider-Man can do something that hasn't been done in the movies."

Part of what fed Spider-Man's success was the 4O-year pent-up demand to see the comic-book hero brought to the big screen. Spider-Man 2¬and any subsequent installments - will have to lure moviegoers with storytelling rather than mere novelty.

Maguire does not think that's a problem for' the sequel. ''The people who came to like Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson will want to see what's happened to them," he says. "And the people who liked the action will get even more of it."

Amy Pascal, the head of Sony Pictures says she has become a believer in Spidey's staying power. ''This is a story that's designed to be serialized," she says. "I'd like to see this go on forever, or for at least as long as I'm here."