"Hey, Raimi, we need more super-villains for the next movie so we can make some more toys. There's only so many Spider-Man, Green Goblin and Dr. Octopus variants we can make, y'know."
"I'm not falling into that trap, you guys. If we overstuff the movie with too many characters we're going to end up with something like Batman & Robin. I can't let toy marketing dictate the direction of my film."
"Hey, here's a big bag of moneys."
"Hmm...how about Venom, Sandman, Xtreme Goblin, and a black-suited Spidey?"
"Thanks, babes."