When it comes to movies, three seems to be the luckiest number.

Film fans screamed for “Scream” three times. “Lord of the Rings” also went the route of the trilogy. For “Star Wars,” three was so nice it went with two troikas of Skywalker sagas.

No surprise, then, that some of this century’s most popular films are coming out with a third chapter. The adventures of Shrek and Danny Ocean, for starters, will have a third part added to them.

Not that every movie story needs to be told multiple times (I’m looking in your direction, “Batman & Robin”), but the prospects are promising for these and some other upcoming projects. Here is a peak at them.

• “Shrek the Third”

The Dreamworks-created cartoon that made it cool for adults to watch animated films again, a third Shrek film is due May 18.

This chapter will see Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers) reluctantly thrown into the throne of the land of Far, Far Away, according to a Dreamworks release. With the help of old friends Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), he looks to hand the crown over to Prince Artie (Justin Timberlake). While they’re gone, Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) must fend off a coup attempt led by Prince Charming (Rupert Everett).

Many magical fairy tales creatures that made the first two films so enjoyable will be featured, including Snow White, Merlin, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella.

Fans of this obstinate ogre need not fret that his third installment will be the last. Variety reported in March 2005 that a script is already in the works for a yet-untitled fourth Shrek film (VERY tentatively slated for a 2010 release). A spin-off has also been started for Banderas’ Puss in Boots character.

Neither Dreamworks nor Paramount, the new distributor for “Shrek the Third,” mind the extra work. “Shrek 2” grossed $436.5 million at the box office in 2004, making it the highest-earning animated film ever.

• “Ocean’s Thirteen”

Most of the gang will be back for the third (and final, according to director Steven Soderbergh) chapter of this fun-loving criminals franchise.

“Ocean’s Thirteen,” expected out June 8, follows the criminal conclave as its members seek revenge on behalf of one of their own, Elliott Gould’s Reuben Tishkoff. The Los Angeles Times reported in September that a new character, a casino billionaire portrayed by Al Pacino, got the best of Tishkoff, and the gang would get payback by rigging a nine-minute window during which every gambler at his casino would win.

Julia Roberts opted out of the third film, with Ellen Barkin joining the ensemble, which is led by George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Don Cheadle. Bringing back a cast like this, which also features Bernie Mac and Andy Garcia, for not one but two sequels is truly remarkable — of course, the blockbuster success of the first two films ($181.4 million and $125.4 million, respectively) doesn’t hurt.

• “Spider Man 3”

America’s favorite web-slinger will be climbing up walls once again as of May 4, with Tobey Maguire’s titular tarantulan superhero squaring off against multiple villains.

As Peter Parker/Spider Man adjusts to his new-found fame, he encounters the wrath of competing photographer Eddie Brock Jr. (franchise newcomer Topher Grace) as well as former friend Harry Osborn (James Franco), who seeks revenge for the death of his father (the Green Goblin of the first film) — although not as the Green Goblin himself or the Hobgoblin, as the ending of the second film might have suggested.

An evil symbiote, meanwhile, that tries to take over Spider Man is eventually thrust out, and it then bonds with Brock, creating Venom.

If that isn’t enough, the Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), whose body is made of sand that can change forms, tries to get rid of Spider Man after the hero gets in the way of his plans.

“Spider Man 3” has a reported production budget of $250 million. Even so, past performance ($403.7 million and $373.4 million, respectively, for the first two films) suggests the film’s producers have nothing to worry about.

It remains unknown whether the franchise will continue. Maguire told USA Today in July that he’s uncertain whether there are more worthwhile tales to be told about the hero. With or without Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, who portrays Parker’s girlfriend Mary Jane Watson, marvel producer Kevin Feige said to MTV in August that he expects more sequels because of the decades of stories that can be pulled from the comic books.

• “Rush Hour 3”

Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker are back as wise-cracking detectives, with both of them serving as fish out of the water this time as their escapades take them to Paris.

Little else is known about the film at this point, as it’s still early in the filming process, except that the two men mix it up with the Chinese Triad in France.

Chan told The Associated Press in July 2005 that the film was being held up by demands from Tucker such as editing rights and a higher salary (Tucker will get $25 million).

“Rush Hour 3” is due Aug. 10.

Contact Paul Lane at 693-1000, Ext. 362, or lanep@gnnewspaper.com.