Originally Posted by Gilda

Eh. Doc Ock isn't dead, he's only mostly dead. All dead would be a different story. He's comic book dead, and in comics, dead is a temporary condition to be sure. The whole "disappearing into a dark pit" thing, in this case the river, means they can leave him dead for as long as they like, but bring him back if they need him, say for a Sinister Six type thing later on, or possibly as a villain-turned-good to help him out in a time of crisis.

I'm betting on two villains in Spider-Man 3; obviously Greeen Goblin 2 (or possibly they'll make Harry Hobgoblin), and they've set up enough minor characters to introduce the Lizard or the John Jameson werewolf character.