Marvel re-boot gets quality talent for villain...

Columbia and Marvel are spreading the word that British actor Rhys Ifans is now officially cast as the villain opposite Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker in the 2012 Spider-Man reboot.

The announcement was made today by Amy Pascal (co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment) and Matt Tolmach (president of Columbia Pictures).

The Welsh actor is perhaps one of the most distinguished thesps to grace the franchise since Alfred Molina played Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2 (2002). Although not  his entire back-catalogue is critically acclaimed, he's acknowledged as one of the most charismatic and versatile 'A'-list character actors currently on the scene, and his most recent work seems to have got him the gig. Tolmach says: "We have been very fortunate to attract some of the best actors working today to play the villains in the Spider-Man movies, and it is exciting to see that trend continue with Rhys Ifans.  After seeing his performance in our upcoming film Anonymous, we’re in awe of his talent and think he’s the perfect choice to take on this role.”

There's no word on who Ifans will be playing in the 2012 movie, which I suppose will provide us all with a nice guessing game. Since Marc Webb's outing will re-start the story, one can't discount any of the classic spidey villains that have appeared in the previous three movies.

Marc Webb commented: “What sets the Spider-Man villains apart is the complexity of their relationships with Peter Parker.  Rhys' incredible ability to embody both warmth and rage makes him the ideal choice for this character."

We'll have to wait for Roland Emmerich's Anonymous to see what aspect of his performance in that film sold the execs on his casting for Spider-Man. In the meantime, the incredibly versatile Ifans will be appearing shortly in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Pt.1.

Spider-Man begins shooting this December.