Director Sam Raimi has admitted he “messed up plenty”, with 2007’s Spider-Man 3 movie, saying that people still hate him for the slated superhero flick. Starring Tobey Maguire, the film let down many fans of the masked superhero, and became the last outing for Raimi with the franchise.

Sam RaimiSam Raimi says he "messed up" with Spider-Man 3

Speaking to the Nerdist podcast on Monday (December 30th) the director said, "Each and every one of those Spider-Man movies were pretty damn challenging.”

“I messed up plenty with the third Spider-Man, so people hated me for years – they still hate me for it. It’s a movie that just didn’t work very well,” Raimi continued.

More: Is There Genius In Sam Raimi's 'Oz: Great and Powerful'?

But while the director had previously blamed Sony for the film, he now accepts the blame himself, telling the podcast it was "wrong" of him to make the trilogy's final film because he "didn't really believe in all the characters." 

The director added he now thinks the film’s focus should have stayed on the relationships between the characters instead of trying to outdoing the franchise’s previous two outings. "Topping the previous two films went into the thinking of a lot of people that worked on Spider-Man 3, and it was not good for us," he said.

Tobey MaguireTobey Maguire starred as Spider-Man in Raimi's series of films

Back in 2009 the director had said he "didn't really have creative control" over Spider-Man 3, calling the experience a lesson he had to learn.

“I love Spider-Man so much that I'd like to continue telling Spider-Man stories, but only under those circumstances where I think I can honour him. I don't think I can honour him any other way,” Raimi had told Empire magazine in 2009.

More: Sony Leak Reveals Marvel Tried To Enlist Spider-Man for 'Captain America 3'

However the director never got another go at the franchise as the fourth film was shelved leaving Spider-Man off the big screen until the 2012 reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man, starring Andrew Garfield.

A sequel, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was released in May of this year and divided critics thanks to its introduction of too many characters and the somewhat convoluted plot.

Andrew GarfieldAndrew Garfield has taken over the role of Spider-Man in Sony's reboot of the franchise