Man 2 (2004)_ (qv) released,  Ivan Raimi (qv) wrote a plot for the third film in two months.  According to Sam Raimi (qv), the film initially dealt with the  concept of heroes with a dark side, and villains with a sympathetic  side. As well as dealing with the "triangle" between Peter, Mary  Jane and Harry, the Sandman was made the films official "villain";  the screenwriters made his character, merely a petty criminal in the  comics, the real killer of Ben Parker to further Peters guilt over  his uncles death. Raimi wanted another villain in the film, and  eventually settled on the popular villain Venom to please the fans.  There was also the addition of a rival love interest, Gwen Stacy, to  complicate personal matters. However, with all these additions, the  story became so complex that Alvin Sargent (qv) considered cutting  it into two films, before realizing he could not create a successful  intermediate climax for the third film to lead into the fourth.