.Movieline is reporting that John Malkovich is in talks to costar in Spider-Man 4 as the Vulture, one of Spidey's original villains (debuting all the way back in The Amazing Spider-Man #2 in 1963). Okay, that right there is not the ridiculous part, and Malkovich could indeed be a pretty great choice to play the Vulture. No, the really strange part of the story is that the magazine is reporting that the character of Felicia Hardy, who Anne Hathaway is the top choice to play, won't be the Black Cat as she's always been in the comics. Nope, they're saying that instead she will be a completely new character, made up just for the movies, called the Vulturess, who is obviously some sort of sidekick for the Vulture. The article caps it by saying that the Lizard won't be in the movie at all, because the "suits" don't want an odd-looking enemy, preferring villains whose faces you can see (the Vulture doesn't wear a mask). Okay, I know Sam Raimi didn't do a great job with Spider-Man 3, but I really can't see this being the route he'd go with Spider-Man 4. Why completely change Felicia Hardy into being a different villain rather than just introduce a new character for the role? And why create a goofy-sounding character like the Vulturess at all? I think someone seriously yanked Movieline's chain on this one, but I'd also be remiss if I didn't report on it, even if I think it's totally fake. And if it's not fake, expect Spider-Man 4 to quickly become the most fan-mocked superhero movie since Catwoman.
http://www.movieline.com/2009/12/exclusive-spider-man-4-circling-john-malkovich-anne-hathaway.php?page=all
A geriatric supervillian with a young hot sidekick to tempt spidey? I can hear the fans groaning already. As if dancing, Emo Peter Parker with his "angry hair" wasn't bad enough.
