Immediately after finishing Spider-Man, director Sam Raimi with help from James Keltie segued into directing a sequel.[18] In April 2002, Sony hired Alfred Gough and Miles Millar to write a script of the film.[11] On May 8, 2002, following Spider-Man's record-breaking $115 million opening weekend, Sony Pictures announced a sequel for 2004.[42] Entitled The Amazing Spider-Man, after the character's main comic book title,[43] the film was given a budget of $200 million[44] and aimed for a release date of May 7, 2004.