Sequel Frights

Image credit: Spider-Man: Zade Rosenthal; Lizard: ©Marvel Comics

HANGING TOUGH Swingers Maguire and Dunst make Lizard green with envy

by Mari Cartel and Brian M. Raftery

Though ''Spider-Man'' has yet to hit theaters, Columbia Pictures is already lining up the next round of bad guys for Tobey Maguire's movie wall-crawler. ''They were thinking of two [villains] in the next one, which is a good idea,'' says Kirsten Dunst, who along with Maguire is signed on for at least two more films. (Director Sam Raimi recently agreed to helm ''Spider-Man 2.'') Dunst notes that in addition to facing fan fave Dr. Octopus, a rogue ex-atomic researcher with four steel tentacles, Spidey is likely to confront ''a lizard thing.'' The latter should come as no surprise to keen-eared comic connoisseurs: Halfway through the new film, Maguire's alter ego Peter Parker reveals that he's just been fired from the office of one ''Dr. Connors'' -- a name shared by the troubled scientist who becomes Spidey's arch-nemesis Lizard. That should spin plenty of talk on the Web.