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As "Spider-Man" moves forward to begin shooting in December, pieces are slowly being put in place. Emma Stone and Rhys Ifans recently came on board playing Gwen Stacy and The Lizard respectively. They join Andrew Garfield in a reboot of Sony's lucrative franchise. But word has arrived of a couple more intriguing parts to be filled.
Moviehole reports that casting is out for young versions of Peter Parker and his nemesis in the film, The Lizard. So do you know a kid you think has what it takes? Sony is looking for a dark-haired Caucasian boy age 4 to 6 (sorry Donald Glover) for Spidey and a kid between 8 and 11 years old for Billy Connors. But before everyone loses their shit about a possible "Young Spider-Man" spinoff don't count on it. These parts are most likely for small moments and since the "Spider-Man" films are PG-13 and pretty much marketed to young kids anyway, don't count on seven-year-olds running around in spandex.
It's been a while since we read the comics, but Billy was a cancer survivor and at one point was nearly killed by his father Curt Connors when his alter-ego The Lizard decided he wanted to hurt him.
Of course whether or not the film goes in this direction remains to be seen but it does point at some potentially interesting elements lined up for the next iteration of the franchise.
Even with the identity of the actor playing him now known, with the announcement of Rhys Ifans in the part at the beginning of this week, the details of who Spidey would be fighting in Marc Webb's upcoming reboot of "Spider-Man" had remained vague. John Malkovich had been cast as The Vulture in what would have been Sam Raimi's fourth outing in the franchise, but when the plug was pulled late last year on that version, it left things up in the air.
Rumors of The Vulture appearing remained (although where Webb & co would have found the dramatic potential in Peter Parker going up against the New York Magazine pop culture blog beats us...), and Deadline briefly linked Philip Seymour Hoffman to the role of Venom (played in the third Raimi movie by Topher Grace), but one character has been consistently mentioned in reports since casting began: The Lizard. Both Michael Fassbender and Christoph Waltz were mentioned in connection with the role, but when Marc Webb praised Ifans' mix of "warmth and rage," in the press release announcing the actor's casting, many, including us, speculated that we would indeed see the character in the film.
And indeed, The Wrap have confirmed that Ifans will be playing Dr. Curt Connors, who transforms into a creature known as The Lizard after an experiment intended to grow his missing arm back goes wrong. The role was previously taken by Dylan Baker ("Happiness"), who played Connors in all three Raimi movies, but never got to take center stage.
It makes sense that Webb and Sony would want to go for a villain not featured in any of the previous films, although we hope they go down a different route than "Peter Parker's mentor goes bad," which was covered fairly convincingly by Alfred Molina in "Spider-Man 2," easily the best film of the franchise to date. Ifans will be up against Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man, and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, and filming begins by the end of the year for a summer 2012 release.
The Hollywood career of Welsh actor Rhys Ifans has been somewhat stop-start since his break-out role in "Notting Hill" -- despite turning in solid work in British flicks like "Enduring Love" and "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," his adventures across the pond have mostly consisted of the underwhelming likes of "Little Nicky" and "The Shipping News." But coming off the back of an excellent supporting role in Noah Baumbach's "Greenberg," and with Roland Emmerich's "Anonymous" and a role in the final "Harry Potter" films on the way, Ifans looks set to book a role that'll prove to be easily the most high profile of his career.
According to Mike Fleming at Deadline, Ifans has been offered the role of the villain of Marc Webb's reboot of the studio's golden goose "Spider-Man." Ifans would join Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, who've already been cast as, respectively, Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy. There's no firm word on who the actor would play if he takes the role (and we can't imagine why he wouldn't): The Lizard has been rumored to be the villain in the picture, but recent reports have pegged Venom as making a possible reappearance.
Michael Fassbender, Christoph Waltz and, more recently, Philip Seymour Hoffman have all been linked to the role, but it looks like Ifans has landed it -- we imagine that Hoffman turned the project down, if it even reached that stage. Whoever Ifans ends up playing, it's another interesting, and somewhat offbeat, addition to a very strong cast for a project that few held hopes for when it was announced.
Update: A press release has gone out confirming that Ifans has signed on. Columbia Pictures president Matt Tolmach commented that "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," while director Webb added "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."
While there's still no word of who Ifans will be playing, Webb's statement sounds like it could be hinting towards The Lizard -- the 'complex' relationship and mix of 'warmth and rage' certainly sound about right. We're sure it'll be made clear down the line.
Does good news for Sony, Marc Webb and and Andrew Garfield mean bad news for Jonah Hill, directors Phil Lord, Chris Miller and well... Sony?
The L.A. Times is reporting that Emma Stone's recent confirmed casting in the "Spider-Man" 3D reboot may preclude her involvement in Hill's "21 Jump Street" adaptation that was written by screenwriter Michael Bacall ("Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World," the "Les Grossman" project).
The issue? Scheduling. Isn't it always (imagine how much money studios could generate if they could create cloning technology)? "Spider-Man" is set to start filming in December of this year (probably pushed to early 2011 as they usually are) and "21 Jump Street" is hoping to shoot early in 2011 as well. There's two options for the project that's not a cash-cow franchise that can't be moved (guess which one?). One: delay their schedule and wait a few months until Stone is free. Or two: recast.
While waiting is an option, apparently scheduling issues lay further down the road as Hill and Stone have to take on other projects and "Spider-Man" will shoot through the entire winter of 2011."Spider-Man" 3D is set for a July 2012 release, while "21 Jump Street" doesn't have anything more than a vague TBD Winter 2012 release date attached according to BOM. Sony are no dummies though. One film is a major priority, while the other is an interesting new franchise that could take off. Keep an eye out for developments and or for a new pretty face to join Hill if it comes to that.
Looks like speculation has ended, with "Easy A" star Emma Stone looking to step into the massive shoes of Kirsten Dunst as Spider-Man's redhead love interest Mary Jane Watson for Sony's untitled "Spider-Man" relaunch. Deadline Hollywood has announced that Stone should be expecting an offer very soon to star alongside Andrew Garfield in Marc Webb's "re-imagining" of the Spidey mythos. Stone has made some good money for Sony with both "Zombieland" and "Easy A," so it's no surprise they would pick someone so prominent on their Rolodex.
We like Stone, but it's hard to say anything positive or negative about what is such a secretive project. Though there is fresh talent all around, how much pressure will Sony feel to adhere to the formula that led the "Spider-Man" franchise to become a billion dollar extravaganza? In other words, will Stone being doing the damsel-in-distress BS that Dunst visibly grew bored from, or will she have a chance to utilize her comedic talent and make Mary Jane a fully-functioning character that might convince girls these movies are worth watching on their own?
Sony remains on the hunt for a Gwen Stacy character as well, revisiting the love triangle/square that helped the maligned "Spider-Man 3" to almost $900 million in worldwide theatrical gross. Adding Stone, who's appeal isn't exactly va-va-voom but more bubbly and warm suggests they might go in another direction for the Stacy character, but it's hard to say what's going on in Sony offices regarding this massive gamble, even with names like Mia Wasikowska and Dianna Agron being tossed around. But we're still bitter about not getting Oded Fehr as Kraven in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man IV: Keep On Webbin'" so maybe we're not the ones best suited to speculation.
Frankly, these contender stories are boring so let's get to the good stuff. Buried in Deadline's story about who has joined the list of female leads for "Spider-Man" is a much more intriguing little nugget: Sony wants to bring back Venom and wants Philip Seymour Hoffman to play him.
Bear in mind, it's who they want, not who they're gonna get, and we may have laughed at this suggestion in the past, but with the likes of Mark Ruffalo cashing in their indie cred to play The Hulk, it's not so far-fetched. And let's not forget than Hoffman is no stranger to tentpoles, playing the villain in "Mission: Impossible 3." Hoffman wasn't the first name to be rumored for the villain, as Christoph Waltz's name cropped up late in the summer, but it's the first we hear of Venom which makes us wonder if more than one baddie will be in store (though Venom in the "Spider-Man" origin story seems to make no sense and is far too soon). But Hoffman as a baddie in "Spider-man"? That's the most exciting news about this film since Andrew Garfield signed on.
Onto the more boring news, which starts with the question: who, who and who? If you didn't think Sony and director Marc Webb were casting a huge, wide net for the female leads for Peter Parker in the forthcoming "Spider-Man" reboot, this should be an indication.
The upcoming/unknown Dianna Agron ("Glee," sorry we don't watch the show), Georgina Haig ("Wasted On The Young") and Dominique McElligott (Sam Rockwell's wife in "Moon") are in consideration for the roles of Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson. Agron actually tested last night, and we would imagine Haig and McElligott will be shortly.
According to Deadline, Agron, Haig, McElligott and the previously revealed Emma Stone and Mia Wasikowska are the final five candidates, but also adds the caveat that more may be added, so basically, this thing is not quite over and don't be surprised if more names crop up next week.
Director Marc Webb is getting closer to finding Peter Parker a leading lady or two for the upcoming "Spider-Man" reboot. After Andrew Garfield was announced as have secured the lead, there has been much speculation on who would be jumping into the role of Mary Jane Watson. But sources close to the production say that is not the only lead female role Webb has been testing actresses for, so comic book fans rejoice as it seems Gwen Stacy will also be making an appearance. With that in mind, a few new names have entered the mix for these highly sought after roles.
Emma Stone, whose latest film "Easy A" opened at number two at the box office this past weekend, was reportedly reading for the role of Mary Jane with Garfield earlier this month. A natural fit for the role, we laid out the case for her casting back in January, she would be able to play opposite Garfield's Parker and would bring a spunky comedic talent and presence to the role. Stone's reportedly "great relationship" with Sony head Amy Pascal couldn't hurt her from getting the part, but with her upcoming slate filling up quickly, she'd have to weigh how starring in a superhero blockbuster would fit into her career.
And for the role of Gwen, it seems Webb and Sony are smitten with "Alice in Wonderland" star Mia Wasikowska, who they recently flew in from New York to meet with. While Wasikowska has received rave reviews for her recent film "The Kids Are All Right," as part of 'Alice' she proved herself capable of being an anchor to a tentpole film. But if you're worried like us that Wasikowska's talents will be wasted in a comic franchise, you can sight a breathe of relief as she is apparently "ambivalent" about the part. Of course, that could also be a ploy for more cash, as even the Mark Ruffalos of the world eventually succumb to a franchise project at some point in their career.
Finally, Lily Collins, who co-starred in last year's surprise hit "The Blind Side," has reportedly met with Sony for the film as well, but no word yet on which role.
With "Spider-Man" slated to begin filming later this year, Sony and Webb are likely to start making some hard decisions soon. With Fox stacking "X-Men: First Class" with a host of young, up-and-coming talent, it seems that Sony is taking the same the approach. Let's just hope this time they think bigger than Kirsten Dunst.
As "Spider-Man" moves forward to begin shooting in December, pieces are slowly being put in place. Emma Stone and Rhys Ifans recently came on board playing Gwen Stacy and The Lizard respectively. They join Andrew Garfield in a reboot of Sony's lucrative franchise. But word has arrived of a couple more intriguing parts to be filled.
