Dunst still not signed for 'Spider-Man 4'

Spider-Man director Sam Raimi has admitted that Kirsten Dunst has not yet signed up to return for the latest superhero sequel.

Speaking to IGN, the filmmaker insisted that "it wouldn't be the Spider-Man series" without Dunst reprising her role as Peter Parker's love interest Mary Jane Watson.

"I'm hoping that Kirsten will be in it, but we're still talking about that," he said. "Definitely, she's got to be in it. It wouldn't be the Spider-Man series without her."

Raimi also dismissed the idea that Spider-Man 4 and 5 will be shot concurrently, saying that he is only concentrating on one movie.

"The writers, producers and I are working out what the story will be, but we haven't been talking in terms of part 4 and 5," he informed MTV. "Right now we're just working on the story for Spider-Man 4, just that one film."

When quizzed about villains for the sequel, Raimi added: "We're definitely talking about working from all the material in the comic books and nothing [invented] outside of that. All the characters or villains will be from Stan Lee’s creations or those that came after him."