Rhys Ifans cast as Spider-Man villain

By Ryan Fleming October 11, 2010

Although we don’t yet know which villain will be facing off against Peter Parker in director Marc Webb’s upcoming Spider-Man reboot, we now know that the villain will be portrayed by Welsh actor, Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows). Ifans joins Emma Stone, who was announced as Gwen Stacy last week, and Andrew Garfield, who will be playing Spidey.

Although it is official that Ifans will play the villain in the movie, Sony was mum on exactly which villain that will be. It appears that the movie will be a total reboot, so it could be any villain in the Spidey universe, including a villain that has already been portrayed in the films. So let the speculation begin!

Recommended Videos

“What sets the Spider-Man villains apart is the complexity of their relationships with Peter Parker.” Webb said in a statement. “Rhys’ incredible ability to embody both warmth and rage makes him the ideal choice for this character.”

Ifans can next be seen as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Spider-Man is due nationwide in 3D on July 3, 2012.

Topics

Marvel
Sony

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…

Entertainment

Spider-Man vs. Harry Potter: Which one is the best?

Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man and Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter.

Although the magical Hogwarts adventures of Harry Potter and the super villaininfested New York City of Spider-Man are worlds apart, the two franchises have a common history in this century. The first Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, arrived in theaters in November 2001. Six months later, Spider-Man marked his big-screen debut in May 2002. Both film series went on to be among the highest-grossing franchises ever.

There isn't a true rivalry between Spider-Man and Harry Potter fans in the way that fans would pit comic book heroes against each other. Comic book crossovers actually exist that have put Spider-Man in stories opposite Superman and Batman, the only superheroes who are on his level or beyond. A Spider-Man and Harry Potter crossover is unlikely to ever happen outside the realm of fan fiction, but their similar history makes it an intriguing matchup. So we've decided to compare them in five key categories in order to determine who would be the winner in a Spider-Man versus Harry Potter battle.
Powers and personality

Entertainment

When is Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse streaming?

Miles Morales falls through a multiverse portal in "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse."

It took almost five years, but the sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse finally arrived and was one of the top hits of the summer. And Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is everything you could hope for from a follow-up -- and more. It has a much bigger scale than the first film, with literally hundreds of Spider-Heroes, at least five distinct animated worlds, and a ton of heart that made this sequel a huge success.

The incredible visuals got people into theaters, but the characters are the reasons why moviegoers kept coming back to see it. Shameik Moore reprises his role as Miles Morales, a teenage Spider-Man who has a lot of questions about his future. Also returning from the first film is Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy, New Girl's Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker, and Causeway's Brian Tyree Henry and Luna Lauren Vélez as Miles' parents, Jefferson and Rio Morales, both of whom have much meatier roles in the sequel.

Entertainment

Why you should watch The Amazing Spider-Man 2 on Netflix

Andrew Garfield in "The Amazing Spider-Man 2."

This month, Netflix has welcomed The Amazing Spider-Man 2 back to its lineup, and it has quickly become one of the most popular movies on Netflix. That makes this the perfect opportunity to tell you why you should watch The Amazing Spider-Man 2 on Netflix.

Now, we would never argue that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is the best Spider-Man film or even a great one. It's got a lot of problems, including a truly grotesque Green Goblin design, a very unconvincing performance by Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn, and a take on Electro (Jamie Foxx) that feels like it was lifted directly from Batman Forever. This film also tries so hard to set up an MCU-style Spider-Man universe that it wildly underperformed at the box office and led Sony Pictures to partner directly with Marvel Studios for the Tom Holland-led Spider-Man flicks.