Newest cast additions include an unknown villain and... Spidey's parents...?

Heat Vision, Borys Kit's fanboy division of The Hollywood Reporter, has learned of a few new additions to Columbia Pictures' upcoming Spider-Man reboot, additions that will likely have long-time fans of the webslinger scratching their heads in puzzlement.

Irrfan Khan, prolific Indian actor and perhaps best known as the police inspector in award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, is reported to have signed on in a villainous role for the upcoming action blockbuster. Khan joins Rhys Ifans, who will portray Dr. Curt Connors (AKA The Lizard), in the new film's villain ranks and will be playing a character named Van Atter. The announcement has led to widespread and perplexed mutterings among Spider-Man comic aficionados, as such a character is not known to exist in any of the various Spider-Man titles. Annie Parisse, of AMC's Rubicon, will play Van Atter's wife.

In other somewhat-odd casting news, Campbell Scott, son of legendary actor George C. Scott, has officially signed on to play Peter Parker's father, Richard Parker. Scott has a recurring role on USA Network's drama Royal Pains and won the National Board of Review's Best Actor award in 2002 for Roger Dodger. Joining him as Peter Parker's mother, Mary, will be Julianne Nicholson. Primarily a television actress, Nicholson's most prominent role was as Detective Megan Wheeler on Law & Order: Criminal Intent between 2006 and 2009.

The casting of Spider-Man's parents has also raised eyebrows throughout the comic book community. Neither appeared in any of Sam Raimi's earlier Spider-Man films, and were only seen in brief and rare flashbacks in the comics, as the Parker parents are long dead before Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man in the official canon. Whether the Parkers will indeed appear in flashback during the film or director Marc Webb decides to break canon in a big way remains to be seen.

Columbia's untitled Spider-Man reboot, starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, and Sally Field, will open 3 July 2012 in the United States and 4 July 2012 in the UK.

Heat Vision

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