Rhys Ifans Will Play The Lizard In 'Spider-Man'

Well, Dylan Baker got screwed. After patiently doing very little in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies as Dr. Curt Connors, a part which was slowly setting up Mr. Baker for a villainous (or dangerous) turn as The Lizard, the actor now has to watch someone else play the role he built.

Much speculation has gone down over what character would occupy the villain's role in Marc Webb's upcoming Spider-Man reboot, and The Wrap now reports that it will be The Lizard. With Rhys Ifans recently announced as the lead villain in the film, that puts him in the role of a teacher/scientist whose attempt to regenerate his missing arm leads to severe genetic catastrophe. Rather than regrowing an arm, he is turned into a reptilian monster.

Mr. Ifans is great for the part, though I was looking forward to seeing how the much more sympathetic Dylan Baker, who was also looking like a mentor figure to Peter Parker in Sam Raimi's films, would end up playing the character. I'd expect we'll see a more overtly evil and dangerous version here. The Lizard will face off against Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker / Spider-Man and perhaps menace Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. Alternate romantic lead Mary Jane Watson is in the film, but an actress hasn't yet been announced for a role.

Oh, and Venom, who was previously rumored as a part of the film? The Wrap says he's not in the picture.

Here's a rundown on the Lizard's basic history from the Marvel wiki:

Curt Connors was a gifted surgeon who went into a war to help his country. He performed "meatball" surgery on wounded GIs, but his arm was injured in a blast and had to be amputated. He eventually became obsessed with uncovering the secrets of reptilian regeneration, and studied reptilian biology extensively. From his home in the Everglades, he finally determined a serum taken from the DNA of a reptile. He had successfully regrown the missing limb of a rabbit, and, despite the warnings of his wife, chose to test it on himself. Connors ingested it, and his arm did indeed grow back. Unfortunately, it had one side effect: Connors was subsequently transformed into a reptilian monster!