The stars and director of Spider-Man 3, which premiered in Japan this week and opens here the first weekend in May (see 'Spider-Man 3 Marketing in Full Swing'), are going through a public discussion of whether and how to do a fourth movie in the series, and it's not at all clear that one will happen. 

 

The biggest potential obstacle to making Spider-Man 4 with the same team is the availability of director Sam Raimi.  He's long been rumored to be up for The Hobbit if Peter Jackson is indeed out as director (see 'New Line Talking the Hobbit in 2009'), and Raimi confirmed to Entertainment Weekly this week that he was interested in The Hobbit under the right circumstances. 

 

Raimi's also involved in a couple of other projects.  He's listed as producer on a Shadow film (see ''The Shadow' Lurks at Columbia'), a character for which he says he feels much affection.  And according to the Hollywood Reporter, Columbia just picked up a new all-ages fantasy script by Power and Glory scribes Damian Shannon and Mark Swift with franchise potential for Raimi to co-produce.  

 

Kirsten Dunst told EW in a separate interview that she didn't think Sony would go forward with Spider-Man 4 without Raimi, and that a film without Raimi, Maguire, and her would be a flop.

 

And Tobey Maguire recently told Men's Journal he wasn't sure if he'd do a fourth film in the series, another potential problem.

 

Although the potential barriers to a fourth film are daunting, the amount of money the Spider-Man franchise generates can overcome a lot of problems.  Studios like to announce sequels while basking in the PR from the opening of the previous release--watch this space over the next few weeks.