Looks like Team **Spider-****Man **are definitely going the two-villain route for The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The Hollywood Reporter has dropped word that Paul Giamatti is in talks to embody classic Parker enemy The Rhino, and Felicity Jones is also in negotiations for a part.
Rhino, who got his comic book start in 1966’s Amazing Spider-Man issue 41, was originally portrayed as a former Soviet thug who gets his powers from a suit that made him nearly invulnerable and blessed him with superhuman speed and strength. He was a (t)horn in Peter’s side for years, but has more recently become a tentative ally. Naturally, we don’t yet know whether he’ll be played strictly as a bad guy, or whether he’ll be something more layered.
But the choice of Giamatti (if he signs) suggests they’re going for less of a straight out hard nut and more of an angry, conflicted type.
As for Jones, her role is being kept quiet for now. If she locks down a deal, she’ll join a cast that already includes Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, returning to the iconic roles of Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, plus fellow new arrivals Jamie Foxx as Electro, Shailene Woodley as Mary Jane Watson and Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborne.
Marc Webb is back in charge behind the camera, working from a script by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, with contributions from Jeff Pinkner and James Vanderbilt. **The Amazing Spider-Man 2 **is set to start filming next month, swinging for an April 18, 2014 release date.