MUMBAI: Imax and Sony Pictures Entertainment have announced that Columbia Pictures' Spiderman 3 will be simultaneously released at theatres throughout the world and at Imax theatres on 4 May 2007.

Spiderman 3 will be directed by Sam Raimi, who also directed the first two installments of the franchise. The film will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of Imax.

In Spiderman 3, Peter Parker has finally managed to strike a balance between his devotion to M.J. and his duties as a superhero. But there is a storm brewing on the horizon. As Spider-Man basks in the public's adulation for his accomplishments and he is pursued by Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard), who rivals M.J. for his affections, Peter becomes overconfident and starts to neglect the people who care about him most.

His newfound self-assuredness is jeopardised when he faces the battle of his life against two of the most feared villains ever (Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace), whose unparalleled power and thirst for retribution threaten Peter and everyone he loves