On Monday, the news came down that Welsh actor Rhys Ifans would play the new villain in Sony's Spider-Man reboot, directed by Marc Webb and co-starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. What we didn't know, however, was who he was going to play. Was he to be The Vulture? The new Green Goblin? Carnage? We had no idea - until now.
The Wrap is reporting that The Lizard, also known as Professor Curt Connors, will be the main baddie in the new webslinger film. This will be the first time the character has been portrayed on screen, though Dylan Baker played Connors in the Sam Raimi films. In the comics, Connors is one of Peter Parker's professors, who during an experiment, mutates himself into a giant, alligator-looking monster who roams the sewers of New York City. Just as Webb described in Monday's press release, he is a character very close to Peter Parker, making their final conflict quite complicated.
While I love the fact that the reboot will introduce a villain not seen in Raimi's films, it's hard not to feel sorry for Baker. He spent two movies building up the character, keeping his arm tucked away in his shirt only to get replaced. Then again, nobody said show business was easy.
