Rhys Ifans is playing The Lizard

[JonnyQuest037]

A movie starring Edward Norton, Katie Holmes and Terrence Howard as superheroes and Billy Dee Williams and Dylan Baker as the villains!!!

Don't forget Sean Young!

She doesn't quite make the club because her Vicki Vale was never seen onscreen and replaced for the sequel. She was replaced during - or possibly even before - filming of Batman. The others appeared in the first movies in their respective series, but were replaced for subsequent entries.

Actually, I'd argue that Edward Norton and Katie Holmes don't qualify for the club either. I was specifically referring to actors who were cast as future villains but only got to play them pre-villainy. So even though Edward Norton was recast (), he still got to play a Bruce Banner who was already the Hulk.

Terrence Howard would definitely qualify though, since he never got the "next time" in the armor that he alluded to in the first Iron Man movie.

 

[Too Much Fun]

my basic point is that it would be somewhat silly for the studio to disregard Baker for a villainous role simply because he wasn't well enough known. I was suggesting that neither were Molina or Church - the only difference between them and Baker was that they had Oscar nods, which may have made them a little more recognisable than him. But I don't think it made them box office draws and, yes, being an Oscar nominee doesn't necessarily make one better fitted to a comic book movie. Tommy Lee Jones horrible Batman Forever performance (coming off his Oscar for The Fugitive) is the example I'd pick.

Molina was never nominated for an Oscar. You bring up a good point suggesting that villains are often cast after Oscar nominations. Ledger is one of the best examples. Like you, I have brought up the example of Tommy Lee Jones many times. He will always be the best example of how just because someone was nominated for an Oscar doesn't mean they can be perfect for any part.

Another interesting thing about his casting is if you watch "Natural Born Killers", which he made shortly before "Batman Forever", you can see that he's playing almost the same character. His nutty warden was just like his Two-Face. The warden was entertaining and fit in the movie he belonged to, while Two-Face was the opposite.

Back on topic, I can't imagine what Rhys Ifans did to attract the attention of people looking to cast a villain role in a summer blockbuster movie. The last movie I saw him in was "Greenberg" and while his acting in it was very good, I'm just not seeing how it would inspire someone to envision him as a villain. Maybe it's the fact that it was a mature role.

I know him mostly from playing wacky characters in romantic comedies or straight comedies ("Notting Hill" and "The Replacements"), but in "Greenberg" he was a failed musician struggling to reconcile with his wife and give their bad marriage a second chance. It was the first time I saw him in a convincing dramatic role. I'm still having trouble imagining him a scientist, though.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Dylan also played a really creepy character in "Trick 'R' Treat" last year that he was really great in. The point is that yeah you feel sorry for the guy because for whatever reason he never got the chance to realize his character's full potential. There were rumors that The Lizard would have been used in the abandoned "Spider-Man 4" but the studio was hesitant because the character had no "face" they could use the actor with (I seriously read this rumor). It's disappointing. I must admit though that this reboot seems to be shaping up rather nicely and that I'm coming around to a more positive viewpoint than I originally had which was that I wasn't going to bother seeing it. Now I'm interested.

 

[JacksonArcher]

Yeah, after seeing Baker in Trick 'R Treat in which he played a creepy character I was almost certain he'd make a terrific Lizard in a future Raimi-directed Spider-Man movie. Oh, well.

 

[Set Harth]

There were rumors that The Lizard would have been used in the abandoned "Spider-Man 4" but the studio was hesitant because the character had no "face" they could use the actor with (I seriously read this rumor).

Just wait till they get to Mysterio.

 

[JacksonArcher]

The Lizard will be interesting to see how they pull it off, because when he does become the monster, he's essentially just a monster without a personality. Unless they make Connors' mutation sort of like the Wolfman, where he can mutate back and forth between the Lizard and his human self, but that might anger some purists.

 

[Set Harth]

Connors is like Lucy in Peanuts with the football. It's like "I'm all better this time, I'm not going to turn into the Lizard anymore, trust me!" Yeah right. How this guy continues to be employed anywhere, especially in the presence of dangerous chemicals, is beyond me.

 

[Admiral_Young]

I've always thought that a film adaption of Todd McFarlane's more feral/Callipso influenced Lizard from his first arc from his "Spider-Man" comic. Doc Connors/The Lizard has always been one of my favorite of Peter's rouges because Peter himself has a personal connection with Dr. Connors making their confrontations always interesting.

 

[Peter the Younger]

I would have liked to see Dylan Baker tackle the role, but I'm sure Ifans will be interesting. Small wish is that they make Connors a geneticist and biochemist, not a physicist.

 

[Silvercrest]

There were rumors that The Lizard would have been used in the abandoned "Spider-Man 4" but the studio was hesitant because the character had no "face" they could use the actor with (I seriously read this rumor).

Just wait till they get to Mysterio.

But they were okay with Norman and his Power-Rangers-style mask????

 

[JonnyQuest037]

There were rumors that The Lizard would have been used in the abandoned "Spider-Man 4" but the studio was hesitant because the character had no "face" they could use the actor with (I seriously read this rumor).

I can totally believe this. After all, they went out of their way to unmask Peter Parker at the end of every movie (and more than once in Spider-Man 2). It got a bit tiresome how really horrible the movie version of Peter Parker was at keeping his mask on.

 

[Captaindemotion]

my basic point is that it would be somewhat silly for the studio to disregard Baker for a villainous role simply because he wasn't well enough known. I was suggesting that neither were Molina or Church - the only difference between them and Baker was that they had Oscar nods, which may have made them a little more recognisable than him. But I don't think it made them box office draws and, yes, being an Oscar nominee doesn't necessarily make one better fitted to a comic book movie. Tommy Lee Jones horrible Batman Forever performance (coming off his Oscar for The Fugitive) is the example I'd pick.

Molina was never nominated for an Oscar.

My bad. I thought he got a nod for Frieda but it was actually just BAFTA and SAG awards.

Back on topic, I can't imagine what Rhys Ifans did to attract the attention of people looking to cast a villain role in a summer blockbuster movie. The last movie I saw him in was "Greenberg" and while his acting in it was very good, I'm just not seeing how it would inspire someone to envision him as a villain. Maybe it's the fact that it was a mature role.

He's currently getting good reviews for playing drug dealer Howard Marks in his biopic Mr Nice Guy. However, I understand that it was his role in the forthcoming Anonymous - where his character also has a nice/ nasty duality - that interested the makers of Spidey.

 

[Set Harth]

Back on topic, I can't imagine what Rhys Ifans did to attract the attention of people looking to cast a villain role in a summer blockbuster movie. The last movie I saw him in was "Greenberg" and while his acting in it was very good, I'm just not seeing how it would inspire someone to envision him as a villain.

Formula 51, maybe?

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Maybe he just gave a really good audition. It's not like it's required for an actor to have a breakout/critically acclaimed role in another movie right before he's cast as a supervillain. It's just worked out that way a lot of times.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Pity Dylan Baker won't get the chance to play The Lizard. I guess they want a clean slate with this new movie.