Rhys Ifans was confirmed earlier this week to be playing the villain in the new Spider-Man movie - and now we’ve got the drop on which villain that will be.
Yeah, if you hadn’t guessed already from the headline, it’ll be The Lizard, aka Dr Curt Connors. Though previous rumours had it that Venom would be making an appearance (after a controversial turn in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 ), it’s also been confirmed that he won’t be showing up in this Spidey tale.
We’ve seen The Lizard on-screen before in Raimi’s Spidey films – or, at least, his human form. In Raimi’s universe, Dr Curt Connors appeared as Peter's college professor, and was clearly being set up as a future nemesis for Peter Parker and co.
Dylan Baker, who played Connors then, never got to don the scales despite patiently waiting in the wings. But Rhys Ifans will, and is set to butt heads with Andrew Garfield’s Spidey as the reboot’s central adversary.
A brief history: Curt Connors becomes obsessed with reptilian regeneration when he loses his arm in a bomb blast. Creating a serum from reptile DNA, he manages to re-grow his missing appendage – but also turn himself into a monster in the process.
If ever there was a Spidey villain more perfect for Ifans, we’ve not come across it. Ifans can easily pull off the nerdy side of Connors before becoming the seething, mutated monster that goes after Spider-Man. We can’t wait to see what he does with the part.
