Movie blogs and fan sites alike have been trying to figure out for some time now just which villain Spidey will be facing in Spider-Man 4. Well, the internets was set abuzz today with some very interesting casting rumors. According to the good folks over at Movieline who unearthed this exclusive, their sources have two intriguing names circling the project.

The first is John Malkovich, who Sam Raimi likes for the part of Adrian Toomes, aka Spider-Man’s elderly nemesis The Vulture. If you’re unfamiliar with the comics, the Vulture is a highly intelligent criminal who invents a flying harness that not only allows him the ability to fly, but grants him superhuman strength and agility. As for the casting, I think Malkovich would be spot-on for the role. Not only is he usually terrific in his villain roles, but it’s been too long since we’ve seen him in the over-the-top, sadistic baddie roles like Cyrus the Virus in 1997’s Con Air.

The next bit of casting is where things get kind of weird. Out of a crop of actresses that have included the likes of Julia Stiles, Rachel McAdams, and Romola Garai, Anne Hathaway is rumored to have emerged as the favorite for Felicia Hardy, which we’ve heard before and is a decision I have no qualms with at all. However, Movieline’s report claims that while she would play Hardy, the character herself isn’t destined to be the Black Cat anymore. Instead, the script has her becoming a brand new supervillain called the Vultress.

More after the jump.

It isn’t clear exactly what her background or relationship to the Vulture would be, nor how this would affect Hardy’s relationship with Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Personally, I think it’s kind of ridiculous. As absurd as many members of Spider-Man’s rogue’s gallery may be, there’s a definite acceptance and embrace-ment of the wild characters that already exist. It’s a suspension of disbelief that has been cultivated over many years of careful familiarization and desensitization. We get and go along with villains like the Vulture or the Green Goblin because even in the most casual fan, there’s a vague sense of recognition due to years of exposure in pop culture. Not only would the bastardization of Felicia Hardy/Black Cat earn the ire of many purists (or even the semi-purists, like myself), it introduces an unfamiliar, outlandish persona that is dangerously vulnerable to ridicule.

The speculation is that the studio is moving away from the Black Cat because they want to avoid comparisons to Cat Woman (a parallel that’s existed in the Marvel-DC universe for over 30 years). Granted, the disaster that was 2004’s Catwoman was only 5 years ago, but even that seems like a good enough amount of time for people to have washed the bad taste out of their mouths by now. So if the Vultress is indeed the case, it’s a real shame – it doesn’t sit well with me in and of itself, but it also means we’re missing out on a screen version of the Black Cat, one of my favorite Marvel villains/anti-heroes. Also, this latest rumor would seem to confirm that Dylan Baker’s Dr. Curt Connors will most likely not be making an appearance as The Lizard. Poor guy. He’s gotta make it in eventually, right??

Tags: Anne Hathaway, John Malkovich, Sam Raimi, Spider-Man 4