BlackCat Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The Internet loves casting rumors, but the gears of speculation are always at their highest when the topic is a superhero. Or, more accurately, who a superhero is going to be fighting in his/her's next trip to the big screen; and with Spider-Man 4 snowballing into production, the rumors have once again begun swirling around who Spidey is going to be web-punching this time around. First reports that Dylan Baker would finally be transforming into The Lizard seemed to confirm Sam Raimi's return to making a single-villain picture, but now a new name has been tossed into the ring.

Mania.com is reporting that their sources have cited Rachel McAdams as in talks with the film's producers to take on the role of Felicia Hardy, also known as Black Cat. If you're unfamiliar with the character, she is a sometimes good, sometimes bad cat burglar who, in addition to being a possible love interest of the web-crawler's, tries to use her less-than-legal prowess to break her father out of jail. It would be an interesting spin to have villainess for part four, but it's unclear at this point as to whether or not the film's Black Cat will ultimately be friend or foe.

A bigger shake-up to the film's line-up could come by way of the second bit of Mania's news, which stakes that the producers are also currently out casting a male villain. Assuming Raimi hasn't already broken with his desire to keep the baddies solo, this would mean that Dr. Curt Connors is not fulfilling his destiny as The Lizard after all, despite Dylan Baker confirming he'd be returning in the role. It's all very fluid and salty at this point, but if Mania's sources are indeed correct, Spider-Man 4 has either multiplied its villains once again or kept The Lizard caged until a later date.

If you're a serious Spider-Man fan, you've probably been wondering when the producers were gonna dust off Dylan Baker and FINALLY let him become the super-villain we've all been waiting for. Yes, newbies, the one-armed college professor who appears in all three Spider-Man films (for about 90 seconds at a time) is the guy who eventually gets turned into man-sized Lizard with a true hatred for Spider-Man. I'm assuming Sam Raimi wedged the character into the first two films, hoping to deliver a pay-off in Spider-Man 3, but I guess that flick was just too damn cluttered with other baddies.

According to one source, not only will Baker finally become The Lizard in Spider-Man 4, but we'll also have to contend with a certain villain known as Carnage. Spider-Man 4 would have to go a little bit "darker" than its predecessors to accurately capture the Carnage story, which focuses on a serial killer called Cletus Kasady who comes into contact with some of Eddie Brock's "symbiote" goo while they're both stuck in prison. (Connors, on the other hand, becomes Lizard after injecting himself with reptilian DNA in an effort to re-grow his missing arm.)

FreezeDriedMovies.com claims that these scoops come from the same source that gave them the Venom scoop a while back, so hopefully both villain reports are accurate. Apparently there's also talk of getting Black Cat into the Spider-Man 4 mix, because if a record-breaking opening weekend tells you one thing, it's that you can never have too many villains in your Spidey sequels. (Perhaps we'll get some of the goofier villains -- Rhino, Vulture, Electro, Kraven the Hunter -- in Spider-Man 5.) Plus, wasn't there a set-up for the Man-Wolf villain in Spider-Man 2? I can hardly keep track at this point.

On the heels of the much-discussed Spider-Man 3 trailer now available for viewing on internet sites everywhere, a savvy blogger over at Film Ick has put together a rather interesting plot summary of what we know so far. He uses a mix of insider "sources" who have worked on the film and smart conjecture based on what we've seen in the trailer and stills. Note, none of this is in any way official, so take it for what it is. What follows are the most interesting claims he makes, but SPOILER HATERS BEWARE -- I can't promise it will be free from secrets.

• Fans should stop whining about the Venom suit. It only looks like a boring chromo-variant of the red and blue suit when it is on Spider-Man because the symbiote is clinging to the Spider-suit. It will look more like "classic Venom" when it takes over Mr. Brock. Maybe that's a cheap argument, but I can live with it if it's true.
• Harry, as the Goblin, dies during a final act of redemption, saving Peter in a fight with Sandman.
• Scenes inside Curt Conner's lab provide a very clear set-up for him turning into the Lizard ... but it is nothing more than teaser. The Lizard himself is being saved for a possible sequel.
• The final battle of the film will be a four way battle royale between Spidey, Venom, Sandman, and the Goblin. Sounds wonderful to me.
• Bruce Campbell is in the film as Quentin Beck (only Beck, not his alter-ego) in a small, amusing part. Unlike the Lizard, this is not seen as set-up for a future Mysterio film. Sad.
• Despite being in many early drafts, the Black Cat will NOT make any significant appearance in the film. She was initially planned to be a love interest/foil for Peter Parker, but Gwen Stacey is taking care of that now. There is VERY strong speculation this is due to Dunst (M.J.) declaring her desire to have nothing to do with any further Spider-Man films. This will hit True Believers pretty hard, as it violates the classic comisc continuity of Parker love interests, but it might work. The franchise could probably survive without Dunst, but it may not be able to survive without Raimi, who is also rumored to be ready to be finished the web-slinger.
  

It's going to be interesting to watch the Spider-Man 4 drama unfold as we draw closer to Spider-Man 3 releasing. Much like the X-Men franchise, there are literally hundreds of stories still to be told, but it requires the continued effort of a few key players. ...