By Brad Hundt, Staff writer

bhundt@observer-reporter.com

This summer at the movies is going to be dominated by threes.

The third "Spider-Man." The third "Shrek." The third "Pirates of the Caribbean." The third heist by the Danny Ocean gang and, toward the end of the season, the third round of espionage with super-spy Jason Bourne and a third "Rush Hour."

Other numbers will come into play, too: the second "Fantastic Four" flick, the fourth "Die Hard" shoot-'em-up extravaganza and the fifth "Harry Potter."

Among the summer's high-profile releases the number that rarely comes into play, however, is one. Originality will be at a premium over the next three months or so, as the temperatures soar, and, it would appear, the desire to be mindlessly entertained by sequels rises correspondingly.

Movies that studio executives undoubtedly hope will spawn a sequel or two also will be hustled into the multiplexes, like a new "Nancy Drew" adventure and a long-awaited "Simpsons" feature. Whether or not we'll be looking at, say, "The Simpsons VI" in the summer of 2022 depends on whether people are willing to pay close to $10 per ticket to see something that's been a fixture on prime-time and in reruns for nearly 20 years running.

Here are 13 movies that are sure to set tongues a-wagging this summer. Release dates are subject to change, as always:

1. Spider Man 3 It could very well be that you're recovering from seeing a midnight screening of the latest "Spider-Man" installment as you read this. If so, a plot summary is probably superfluous. In any event, all the principals from the first two "Spider-Man" films are back, including stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst and director Sam Raimi. Maguire has intimated recently that he won't be back for any more "Spider-Man" movies, but it's good bet that won't stop a "Spider-Man 4" from going forward. (Today)

2. Shrek the Third Though none of them appear on-screen, the computer-animated "Shrek the Third" is about as star-packed as one of those 1970s "Airport" movies. Let's see, there's Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Julie Andrews, Larry King and Regis Philbin.

Where's Helen Hayes? Oh yeah, she died in 1993.

This "Shrek" outing finds the lovable green ogre in a position to inherit the land of Far, Far Away. He installs the problematic Arthur on the throne, and complications ensure. (May 18)

3. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End When "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" was released last summer, the critics rendered a collective "Yuck!" while the public rendered a collective "Yippee!", and proceeded to make it one of the highest-grossing films of all time, coherence-be-damned.

"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" is a continuation of "Dead Man's Chest," with Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow setting out to confront those pesky villains, Davy Jones and Lord Cutler Beckett, once and for all. This installment was filmed at the same time as "Dead Man's Chest," and again features Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom. An added attraction this time is Rolling Stones guitar-slinger Keith Richards playing Depp's dad. (May 25)

4. Mr. Brooks Three faded icons of the 1980s and early 1990s come together in the serial-killer saga "Mr. Brooks," which has generated some good early buzz.

Mr. Good Guy himself, Kevin Costner, plays a well-to-do businessman who is a serial killer on the side. He's being tracked by Demi Moore, who has gone even longer than Costner without a hit movie. Costner's alter ego is played by William Hurt, who was hot for a couple of seasons back in the 1980s, but has since settled into the supporting and straight-to-video groove. (June 1)

5. Ocean's Thirteen "Ocean's Twelve," the 2004 follow-up to "Ocean's Eleven," was a strange confection - entertaining in its own way, but packed full of in-jokes and digressions that reeked of self-indulgence on the part of director Steven Soderbergh.

Surprisingly, Soderbergh and stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Bernie Mac are convening for "Ocean's Thirteen," another glamour-packed heist adventure. This time Al Pacino is along for the ride, playing a corrupt Las Vegas businessman involved in a hotel deal. (June 8)

6. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer The first "Fantastic Four" movie earned slashing reviews in 2005, but it earned over $300 million at the box office worldwide, so here we are with a follow-up.

"Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" finds the Thing, Reed Richards, the Human Torch and the Invisible Woman engaged in a battle with the Silver Surfer and a resurrected Doctor Doom. Anyone want to bet that the Silver Surfer is going to get his own movie in a couple of years?

Most of the cast from the first movie is back, as is director Tim Story. (June 15)

7. Nancy Drew Teen sleuth Nancy Drew has a fan base ranging from Social Security recipients to elementary school students, so it's amazing that she has been absent from the big screen since the 1930s.

The long Nancy drought will come to an end with the release of "Nancy Drew." It stars Emma Roberts, who will use all her deductive skill to solve a murder that involves a Hollywood star. No word yet on whether that will include a bloody glove, a white Bronco, Bruno Magli shoes, F. Lee Bailey or a surfer-dude house guest.

Rachel Lee Cook and Tate Donovan also star. (June 15)

8. Evening Now this is what you call counter-programming.

Amid all the car crashes and gunplay of summertime, we have "Evening," an estrogen-saturated drama about a dying woman (Vanessa Redgrave) who looks back over her life, while her daughters try to come to terms with her impending exit. This should have a little extra frisson since one of those daughters will be played by Natasha Richardson, Redgrave's own daughter. The rest of the cast includes Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Toni Collette and Claire Danes. The script is by Michael Cunningham, whose novel "The Hours" was transformed into an insufferable Oscar nominee five years ago. (June 15)

9. Live Free or Die Hard Since 1995 and "Die Hard With a Vengeance," Bruce Willis' everyman action hero, John McClane, has packed his guns away and, one presumes, been mowing his grass in some leafy subdivision. But with the world being imperiled by techno-terrorists and, perhaps even more pressingly, Willis's career needing a booster shot, the "Die Hard" franchise is being revived with "Live Free or Die Hard."

"Rocky Balboa" did the trick for Sylvester Stallone, so it could work here too. Maggie Q and Kevin Smith will join Willis in the expulsion of ammo. (June 29)

10. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix The latest "Harry Potter" movie has Harry studying for his OWL exams - are they tougher than the GRE or the LSAT? - and the Ministry of Magic is hovering menacingly over the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

This "Harry Potter" has a new scriptwriter, in the form of Michael Goldenberg, and a new director, David Yates. Daniel Radcliffe is back as Harry, and so are Emma Watson, Ralph Fiennes and Gary Oldman. (July 13)

11. Hairspray When John Waters released "Hairspray" in 1988, it became the cult director's most successful film. It eventually was transformed into a Broadway musical, and now the musical has been adapted for the big screen.

It's still centered around efforts by a zaftig teen to integrate Baltimore in the early 1960s and her rivalry with the stuck up Amber Von Tussle. The cast is pretty impressive: Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah, John Travolta and Waters himself. (July 20)

12. The Simpsons Movie What exactly "The Simpsons Movie" is about has been a tightly-held secret by the moviemakers. But here's what is known: It's written by series creator Matt Groening and Oscar-winning director James Brooks, along with - gulp! - nine other writers. The whole panoply of Springfield's weirdest will be on hand - Moe, Ned Flanders, Mayor Quimby, Montgomery Burns, Fat Tony, Krusty the Clown, the Comic Book Guy and, of course, Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie.

Albert Brooks, Erin Brockovich and Minnie Driver also lend their voices. (July 27)

13. The Bourne Ultimatum After receiving an Oscar nomination for his direction of the 9/11 drama "United 93," Paul Greengrass returns to the world of spying and skullduggery with "The Bourne Ultimatum," the third movie that has Matt Damon playing amnesiac spy Jason Bourne.

In this installment, Bourne keeps trying to uncover who the heck he is while evading federal agents. Joan Allen, Julia Stiles and David Strathairn co-star. (Aug. 3)

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