A few days ago Sony officially announced that Rhys Ifans had been cast as the villain in their upcoming reboot of the Spider-man franchise, however the press release sent out coyly said that, ‘The filmmakers prefer to not reveal which character Ifans will be playing in the forthcoming film.’
Well, that wasn’t going to stop people trying to find out, and now The Wrap says they’ve got the skinny on who Ifans will play. While Sony remains tight-lipped, they claim they have two sources close to production who report Ifans will be playing The Lizard. There had been previous suggestions that the baddie in Marc Webb’s reboot would be Venom, although that always seemed unlikely seeing as he appeared in Spider-man 3 and this is a reboot.
It’s unfortunate news for Dylan Baker, who played Dr. Curt Connors in both Spider-man 2 and 3, with fans assuming this meant that one day he’d transform into his villainous reptilian alter-ego (there were suggestions this was set to happen in Sam Raimi’s aborted Spider-man 4). However Baker is never going to get to do that, but it seems Ifans will.
In Marvel lore, Connors was an army surgeon, whose arm had to be amputated after an explosion. Knowing that some reptiles and amphibians can regrow severed limbs and tails, he became obsessed with finding the secrets behind this regeneration ability. However like many sciencey super-villains, initial success in his experiments turns to tragedy, when he manages to regrow his limb, but subsequently gets transformed into a reptilian monster.
The Spidey reboot, starring Andrew Garfield in the title role, and Emma Stone as love interest Gwen Stacy, is set to hit theatres on July 3rd, 2012.