News broke from The Hollywood Reporter that Paul Giamatti is in talks to play the Rhino in the sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man, which I think is an inspired casting choice. Giamatti is an excellent actor and it would somehow be fitting that the other half of the duo from Sideways got his chance to play a Spidey villain.
From the Reporter piece:
The role is a dream part for Giamatti, who in the past has said the Rhino was one of his favorite characters when he was a boy.
“I thought Rhino was the greatest thing when I was a little kid,” he told ShowbizSpy in March 2011. “It was a guy who was basically in this rhinoceros outfit and I always thought, ‘Why don’t they have The Rhino in one of their movies,’ but maybe The Rhino wasn’t that big of a deal for anybody but me…If they ever go with The Rhino I would be ready and waiting.”
Around the same time he was also on Late Night with Conan O’Brien where he talked about the character: “The Rhino was fantastic. He was, like, a Russian guy. He was real fast and he hit stuff real hard.
That right there has me sold that he’s the man for the job.
Also buried in the article is news that Felicity Jones is up for a role. I don’t recognize her off the bat, but she was in the Agatha Christie episode of Doctor Who, a favorite of mine. Judging by her looks and status as a British person, I would imagine she could be a great choice as Betty Brandt. But who knows?
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Spectacular maybe?) is set to hit the screen next summer, so this stuff better get organized fast.