John Malkovich To Play Spider-Man 4 Villain

Spider-Man 4 begins shooting in March next year. Casting rumours have been flying all over the place – and now Movieline are spreading a rumour that John “Malcatraz” Malkovich is being wooed to play the main villain, The Vulture.

But there’s more! Anne Hathaway is also rumoured to have bagged the role of Felicia Hardy, but not as The Black Cat. Sam Raimi and co-writer Gary Ross have created a new character – The Vulturess. There were studio fears The Black Cat might be seen as too much like Catwoman. Will Malkovich and Hathaway be a new dynamic evil duo? It is an interesting idea, to say the least.

Raimi originally earmarked John Malkovich to play the Green Goblin back in 2002, but for various reasons, he didn’t take up the role. Willem Dafoe grabbed it and made it all his own. It seems Raimi is a patient man and, quite frankly, Malkovich can play amazing bad guys in his sleep. One only has to recall Cyrus the Virus in Con Air to know the actor loves nothing more than chewing the scenery around him.

Anne Hathaway is no acting slouch either, but let us hope that Spider-Man 3′s lack of focus does not come back to haunt the series. Everybody knew Spidey 3 was a bit too messy and Raimi didn’t have full creative control. Spider-Man 4 will hopefully remedy the situation and produce a new adventure on-par with the first two films.

Spider-Man 4 will certainly be one of the biggest summer films of 2011. Expect more updates throughout next year. Excited yet?

Tags: anne hathaway, John Malkovich, sam raimi, spider-man 4