Rhys Ifans Will Play Spider-Man Villain in New Movie
Production begins in December
Rhys Ifans has been announced as the villain for the upcoming untitled Spider-Man reboot for director Marc Webb. Ifans joins Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy in the next installment in the franchise for Columbia Pictures.
Commenting on the announcement Matt Tolmach, president of Columbia Pictures, said, "We have been very fortunate to attract some of the best actors working today to play the villains in the Spider-Man movies, and it is exciting to see that trend continue with Rhys Ifans. After seeing his performance in our upcoming film Anonymous, we’re in awe of his talent and think he’s the perfect choice to take on this role."
The film Tolmach is referring to, Anonymous, is the upcoming Roland Emmerich (2012) feature Columbia will be releasing in March next year. It is a film which uses the argument it was the 17th Earl of Oxford, Edward de Vere, that actually wrote Shakespeare's plays. Ifans plays de Vere.
As for his role in the Spider-Man film, it was not mentioned what villain Ifans would be playing. However, with Stone playing Gwen Stacey there is reason to believe Ifans will play the Green Goblin, a character played by Willem Dafoe in the first Spider-Man, but there have also been rumors he'll be playing Venom, one of the two villains in the disappointing Spider-Man 3. And I've already seen comic fans on Twitter saying they see him as Vulture or Lizard.
Webb was also quoted in the press release saying, "What sets the Spider-Man villains apart is the complexity of their relationships with Peter Parker. Rhys' incredible ability to embody both warmth and rage makes him the ideal choice for this character."
Ifans recently starred in Greenberg and Pirate Radio and is probably best known to general audiences in the States as Hugh Grant's roommate who mistakes mayonnaise for yogurt in the 1999 Julia Roberts rom-com Notting Hill. He will also be featured as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) penned the screenplay and production is set to begin in December July 3, 2012 release in 3D.
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why not Carnage? He has look for it and maybe Goblin but dosent seem to have the build for Venom
Is this the kicker from The Replacements?
Yes, it is
Awesome! :)
Holy crap. This is the guy from The Replacements and Little Nicky. WOW, I hope the know what they're doing
I loved that Emma is joining the cast, but idk how i feel about this.
Im not usually sure about Villain casting but this is definately Electro! Mark my words.
Marc Webb said "Rhys'incredible ability to embody both warmth and rage makes him the ideal choice for this character."
Remember Electro from the '90s cartoons? He had low confidence, low self asteem, an inferiority complex and was a failed engineer. It's got to be this guy!
My second choice would be Shocker but there's nothing warm about him!
He could play a number of characters. I hope they do not rehash the green goblin, but he could work for Electro, The Lizard, Venom, or Carnage.
Personally I'd go for the Lizard. They should try to make this new series as fresh and possible and not be lazy reusing villians. At least not until they run out of new ones.
I think a rehash of Green Goblin is the way to go. Have Goblin kill off Gwen towards the end, but Goblin can't die… Unless they kill off Gwen in the second one, but that just wouldn't be right. We need Mary Jane next year.
What's the point in rebooting it if they're just going to use the same villains??? There's plenty of villians to choose from. That's boring.
Electro would be HUGELY refreshing.
It's a villain who we could possibly empathise with. He's got no confidence and low self esteem but somehow becomes a villain. That's cool.
Shocker could produce some interesting action set pieces and bank robberies.
I prefer villains who aren't too over the top. A man who controls electricity? Come in.
A man who transforms into a huge lizard? A man who transforms into sand?
Those are just ridiculous. Green Goblin was a man who was going insane and using his incredible technology for revenge. Doctor Octopus was an intelligent scientist who had goals, but had his anger get the best of him.
We need more guys like those. Villains who mean something and don't seem like they came directly out of a comic book. Even though they are comic book creations, the movies should be more real than a comic book.
Kingpin would be a nice villain to see. Hammerhead too. Mysterio is always a great choice. Kraven the Hunter is my favorite pick. Rhino could be a cool to see on screen. But guys like Electro, Vulture, Chameleon and anyone else who flies or controls the elements are just bleh.
I can see your point feedback. The films HAVE to be more realistic than the comicbooks.
I thin Electro and Spiderman have some obvious mirrors in their life. A man who can control electricity is about as far fetched as a man who can spunk webs from his wrists.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE no Man-Lizard-In-A-Lab-Jacket.
Back when Raimi's Spider-man 4 imploded, it was reported that Sony execs were the ones who kept Dr. Connors from ever becoming the Lizard on film. They wanted to stick to villains with human faces.
Many fans wanted to see the Lizard (myself included) but they thought the Vulture would be a much better way to go.
I thought it was the Vulture they wouldn't allow.
No, they actually had gone so far as to announce the casting of John Malkovich as the Vulture (and Anne Hathaway as his daughter) before Raimi said he just couldn't make the story work in the timeframe they wanted.
In fact, here's Rope of Silicon's reporting of it, and the link to Movieline they cite includes the Sony bias against the Lizard in the last paragraph:
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/malkovich-and-hathaway-are-apparently-spider-man-4-villain-frontrunners
Cheers AJ for the link.
Like I said, if it's not Electro, I'll eat my hat.
at least he's wirery
did I just quote The Replacements? I feel awful.
I really loved this guy in "Greenberg," though that didn't exactly show his potential as a villain.
I honestly think Rhys Ifans shouldn't play as Green Goblin cause Goblin was in the first Spidey movie. But it is a reboot so they can choose any villain they want. I honestly see Rhys Ifans as either Vulture or as Carnage. Actually, he will do awesome as Carnage because he has that crazy look as Celeste Kassidy. No joke. Forget Jim Carrey as Carnage. I honestly think and know that Rhys Ifans can make a good Carnage if he cuts his hair a little shorter.