"Spider-Man" Maguire relishes role as bad boy

LOS ANGELES - He enjoys a reputation as an all-around good guy in Hollywood, but "Spider-Man" Tobey Maguire says it's more fun being bad in the latest sequel of the smash hit film series.

In "Spider-Man 3," based on the spider-like superhero of comic book fame, Maguire and movie director Sam Raimi show the dark side of the crime-fighter's alter ego, Peter Parker.

Raimi, who has long been a fan of the "Spider-Man" comics, said it was difficult to show his hero's dark side, but Maguire had an opposite reaction.

"I probably had the most fun doing those (bad Spidey) scenes," the star told reporters on Friday. "It's something I think is kind of unexpected since Peter Parker behaves in some of the ways he behaves."

"Spider-Man 3" debuts in theaters on May 4, kicking off Hollywood's lucrative summer season. The first "Spider-Man" movies combined to gross roughly $1.6 billion at global box offices, and No. 3 is expected to be a blockbuster, too.

For "Spider-Man 3," Raimi and the other filmmakers decided to show audiences that crime-fighting fame has gone to Spider-Man's head, and a proud Parker makes some rather dumb mistakes with his girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson.

Moreover, a meteorite crashes to Earth oozing a black liquid that clings to Parker, enhancing his superpower and causing him to do more harm than good in some cases.

"I want him to be a good person," said Raimi. "But when I take a grander view of it, I realize this is something he's got to go through so he can find his truest self. This is a part of himself that had never been explored, these feelings of darkness."

Never fear, Spidey fans. Even though he does some bad, the red-and-blue-suited superhero does plenty of good, too, as he tries to save humanity from new villains, Sandman and Venom.

"Spider-Man 3" received its world premiere earlier this week in Tokyo, and many questions have been asked about whether Maguire, Raimi and Kirsten Dunst, who plays Mary Jane Watson, would return for a fourth film.

In interviews on Friday, the consensus among the trio of key players was that they likely would if all three committed to the project. For now, however, nothing is in the works.

"I'm not really committed either way, and we'll see what happens," said Maguire.