Of all the different kinds of movies Paul Giamatti has done in his career — from charming low-key indies to prestige projects to period set TV miniseries — he's never really had a foot in the summer tentpole/franchise game. But it looks like a major summer movie for 2014 will find him making life difficult for one young superhero.
THR reports that Paul Giamatti is in talks to play The Rhino in Marc Webb's "The Amazing Spider-Man 2." And yeah, the character is pretty much exactly what you would expect. He's a Soviet thug with a suit that gives him super strength and speed, and yes, he's got a horn, hence the name. In the comics, he does team with Electro (set to be played by Jamie Foxx), but we wonder if the movie will take the more interesting angle from "House Of M," where he's originally hired as Peter Parker's bodyguard, only to betray him and help Electro (and some other baddies) expose Spider-Man for who he really is. Either way, let's hope this isn't too many villains spoiling the soup.
Meanwhile, rising British actress Felicity Jones — fresh off the Sundance Film Festival where she starred in "Breathe In," a reteaming with her "Like Crazy" director Drake Doremus — is also in negotiations for an unspecified part. Peter will already be bouncing between Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy and Shailene Woodley's Mary Jane Watson, so we're curious what her role might be.
Production on the film is ramping up quick with a February start in the cards. "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" hits theaters on May 2, 2014.