Steven Spielberg, working from the notes of the late Stanley Kubrick, directs A.I., starring Haley Joel Osment as a robot with an attachment to the couple who activate him.

Two long awaited films that mark the beginnings of series based on beloved novels are Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and The Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring.

Spider-Man, starring Toby Maquire, spawns a franchise.

Star Wars, Episode 2: Attack of the Clones is a better film than Phantom Menace but still falls short of fan and critic expectations.

Minority Report, starring Tom Cruise and directed by Steven Spielberg, is yet another film based on a Philip K. Dick short story. Its story of precrime eerily echoes efforts to profile and detain terrorists after 9/11. Compare it to Imposter, based on a Dick story with a similar theme.

M. Night Shymaylan offers Signs, starring Mel Gibson, which explores the phenomenon of crop circles.

Simone is a retelling of the Frankenstein story with a film director taking the place of the scientist and a computer-generated actress taking the place of the Monster.

Sequels include:

• Men in Black II
• Star Trek: Nemesis
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Sequels released in the Summer of 2003 include:

• The Matrix Reloaded
• T3: Rise of the Machines
• X-Men 2: X-Men United

The Hulk, directed by Ang Lee, made its motion picture debut with a completely computer-generated title character.

Also debuting was The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Late in the year come two more highly anticipated sequels, both completing trilogies:

• The Matrix Revolutions
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Also released is Timeline, based on the novel by Michael Crichton

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King fulfilled predictions to win Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director (Peter Jackson) as well as numerous other awards.

Films released in 2004 include:

• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, an Andy Kaufman film starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet
• Hellboy, based on the comic book
• Spider-Man 2
• Van Helsing, based on the character from Dracula who is depicted as a monster hunter
• I, Robot, based on Isaac Asimov's stories and starring Will Smith
• The Day After Tomorrow, an environmental disaster flick about the effects of global warming
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban
• a remake of The Stepford Wives starring Nicole Kidman
• Catwoman, starring Halle Berry; the plot departs from the Batman storyline
• The Village, a film from M. Night Shyamalan
• Exorcist: The Beginning
• The Chronicles of Riddick, a sequel to Pitch Black (2000)