Rhys Ifans Has Been Cast As Spider-Man Villain

Sony has announced that British actor Rhys Ifans has signed on to play a villain in Spider-Man’s reboot. But which one? For now we’ve got a cast of Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, and now, Ifans.

CinemaBlend reports:

Sony announced today that they’ve cast Rhys Ifans, the British actor known for his breakout role in Notting Hill as the slacker roommate, as well as for performances in Pirate Radio and this year’s Greenberg.

According to the press release it was actually Ifans’ performance in the upcoming Sony film Anonymous, directed by Roland Emmerich of all people, that got him the job:

“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.”

And while they’re not going to tell us who the villain will be, director Marc Webb had some vague things to say about how the villain’s relationship to Spider-Man himself is the key to the character:

“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.”

On all the movies I’ve seen him in, Ifans has been great. I particularly love his performance in Pirate Radio. There’s not much to say here, until we get to know which villain will he be portraying. We’ll see…

Who do you think Ifans will play? You ok with his casting?

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23 thoughts on “Rhys Ifans Has Been Cast As Spider-Man Villain

  1. DOes anyone else think its stupid that they are having a Spider man reboot? I mean, seriously …. it came out what, 10 years ago or so? Why does it need a “reboot” …. i’m convinced the movie industry is running on dry when it comes to talented screenwriters.

    1. In all likelihood, Sony signed a deal with Marvel that would let them make X amount of movies on Spider-Man (I had heard way back there was supposed to be 6, so let’s say 6).

      So Sony paid Marvel for the rights to do 6 Spider-Man movies (even if they didn’t pay and Marvel gets a % sales, doesn’t matter). Sony made 3 and are still allowed to make however many more, and I’m sure they don’t intend on letting rights they negotiated for go to waste.

      On the draining talent of Hollywood… well I read in the paper during the summer that the Australian film industry is on the rise and starting to make better quality pictures. So maybe we’ll start seeing more Australian original features in theaters soon.

  2. Well…. let’s just see what’s going to happen to this movie I think its a bad idea for this reboot. Im not getting excited for this film its all about money I guess.

      1. Maybe in the long run, but only blockbusters are for the money. There are always the films that are clearly done to get nominations from the Academy for actors, directors, or whoever. But I guess in the long run directors do this to help their future projects and actors do it to get better roles (and maybe increased pay per film when they get that “Academy Award Nominee…” or “Academy Award Winner…” title).

  3. I’m not at all looking forward to this reboot and this casting just confirmed it. I’m worried their going to go too campy with Peter Parker being in high school. I’m thinking this round of new Spiderman movies will be as bad as Joel Shumacher’s “Batman & Robin”.

    I know I shouldn’t be so quick to criticize it before we even get a trailer but I’m going on record as predicting this version will be bad. Every part that I’ve ever seen Rhys Ifans in he’s been funny and quirky and a great character actor but a VILLIAN? I think the last time he tried that was in Little Nicky and we all know how believable he was in that.

    1. Lots of reasons to be wary of the new Spiderman franchise, but the cast is not one of them. The cast, thus far, is *at least* as talented as the first trilogy — probably more so (Emma is a rather large upgrade to Kirsten, that’s for sure). Honestly, the cast (and Director) are giving me less worries now than I had when this whole thing was announced.

      I think this new reboot is just going to be very different, that’s all.

  4. Electro I bet or Deadpool, he seems like he will play deadpool or no wait A Zombie! You don’t have a hit movie in the 2000’s without a Zombie.

    But being serious he will be scorpion.

  5. I am aware of one story arc that involved the vulture hiring parker away from Dr. Conners, and taking peter under his wing…. so to speak. The relationship turns sour when the vulture wants peter to develop weapons.

    That being said, I think peter is supposed to be in high school in this film, so I am thinking vulture is out, and Dr. Conners is our most likely candidate

      1. Now that you point that out I think that is definitely a very good possibility and a great choice. Lizard is a much better villain for the first movie in a reboot saga than Vulture would be

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