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Supposedly Ben Kingsley was in negotiations for SM3 to be Adrian Toomes/The Vulture but they decided to go with Sandman instead (in addition to the Venom/Harry Osborn guys, who I think were always going to be in it).
So take that for what it's worth, but the Vulture has at least been a consideration as a Spidey movie villain. And, of course, the Lizard is always a possibility, since they've put Curt Connors in every movie as a supporting character.
Like others, my thoughts originally went to Kingpin. I could also see Electro or Rhino as a villain. Call me crazy, I would love to see a story where Spidey is constantly under attack by new villains and only at the end discovers Kingpin is behind his troubles. If they can't get the rights for Kingpin, then Hammerhead or Tombstone could also work.
Supposedly Ben Kingsley was in negotiations for SM3 to be Adrian Toomes/The Vulture but they decided to go with Sandman instead (in addition to the Venom/Harry Osborn guys, who I think were always going to be in it).
So take that for what it's worth, but the Vulture has at least been a consideration as a Spidey movie villain. And, of course, the Lizard is always a possibility, since they've put Curt Connors in every movie as a supporting character.
Originally, Spider-man 3 was supposed to have Sandman and Vulture for the villains, but Raimi bent to pressure from Marvel and the studio to include Venom (a character he strongly dislikes) instead of Vulture. His reasoning behind including Venom was (paraphrasing) "I can't only include the characters I like. Venom has a lot of fans and he is part of the Spiderman mythology, so we're going to include him."
Like others, my thoughts originally went to Kingpin. I could also see Electro or Rhino as a villain. Call me crazy, I would love to see a story where Spidey is constantly under attack by new villains and only at the end discovers Kingpin is behind his troubles. If they can't get the rights for Kingpin, then Hammerhead or Tombstone could also work.
If they used Tombstone's real back story and worked it into the movie, that would be really cool.
If Sony-Columbia's willing to do some kind of profit-sharing deal with Fox, my money's solidly on the Kingpin. Heck, they could even still cast Michael Clarke Duncan for it - brilliant piece of casting, and he/his work was utterly wasted in Daredevil.
Dr. Connors/the Lizard would be a suitably bittersweet touch, especially if they make it a really gut-wrenching discovery on Peter's part (or partially involve him in the research that leads up to the change).
Weirdly, a lot of villains that seem perfectly reasonable on paper or in animation just don't make any sense in live-action. I really like Chameleon, Kraven the Hunter, and Mysterio - they're fun to watch - but I'm not sure they would "track" well on-screen without a serious visual makeover. Certainly if a dude with a fishbowl-head or malleable-face showed up on-screen, the audience shaking would not be from fear.
Certainly if a dude with a fishbowl-head or malleable-face showed up on-screen, the audience shaking would not be from fear.
Mysterio would be perfect for an FX-heavy movie considering that's his power. You could get around the fishbowl hemlet with something like The Alchemist's awesome and scary-looking getup from Vidocq. In fact, The Alchemist is almost exactly what I would expect Mysterio to be like (FX-wise) on screen; minus the savate, acrobatics and fencing.
I've been wanting to see a send-up of Kraven's Last Hunt replacing Vermin with The Lizard as a movie for awhile now. If you haven't read it, KLH is one of the best Spider-Man story arcs ever written and it's probably the best treatment of Kraven ever. Chameleon isn't in it, but he's Kraven's brother so maybe they could find a place for him in the story.
Instead of Kingpin, I'd rather see another one of Spidey's crimeboss-style villains like Hammerhead, Tombstone or The Rose. The Rose isn't too well known, but I thought he was pretty awesome.
As long as they don't bring back Venom or put Carnage or Morlun in the movie I'll probably be happy with it.
Like others, my thoughts originally went to Kingpin. I could also see Electro or Rhino as a villain. Call me crazy, I would love to see a story where Spidey is constantly under attack by new villains and only at the end discovers Kingpin is behind his troubles.
I see that working FANTASTICALLY with Kraven behind it all.
(the other question is, who will Bruce Campbell play?)
Actually Lizard/Kraven Combo works.
CC becomes the Lizard, city brings in 'big game hunter' Kraven to stop the monster's rampage. Enter Spiderman to save his friend from the hunter...
Heh, this plotline kinda got used in the Spider-man 3 videogame.
It uh, got a bit out there though. Not an indictment of using if-Lizard-then-Kraven, it's just that Treyarch got pretty goofy at times with the game.
Actually Lizard/Kraven Combo works.
CC becomes the Lizard, city brings in 'big game hunter' Kraven to stop the monster's rampage. Enter Spiderman to save his friend from the hunter...
I was thinking pretty much the same thing for the Kraven's Last Hunt story. The only difference would be that Kraven's true intention is to hunt Spidey since he views him as the ultimate predator (Kraven's motive for hunting Spider-Man in the comics.) Kraven would then go after Spider-Man when the hero shows up to save The Lizard.
Doing a movie with Scorpion and the Spider-Slayers could be cool too, but it always seemed a little weird for JJJ to be involved in the creation of super-villains. No matter how much he dislikes Spider-Man, paying a mad scientist to create a super-powered robot or scorpion man to capture or kill a vigilante sounds a lot like hiring a hitman to kill your neighbor.
Actually Lizard/Kraven Combo works.
CC becomes the Lizard, city brings in 'big game hunter' Kraven to stop the monster's rampage. Enter Spiderman to save his friend from the hunter...
I was thinking pretty much the same thing for the Kraven's Last Hunt story. The only difference would be that Kraven's true intention is to hunt Spidey since he views him as the ultimate predator (Kraven's motive for hunting Spider-Man in the comics.) Kraven would then go after Spider-Man when the hero shows up to save The Lizard.
Doing a movie with Scorpion and the Spider-Slayers could be cool too, but it always seemed a little weird for JJJ to be involved in the creation of super-villains. No matter how much he dislikes Spider-Man, paying a mad scientist to create a super-powered robot or scorpion man to capture or kill a vigilante sounds a lot like hiring a hitman to kill your neighbor.
A woman in Florida hired a hitman to kill her husband just a few months after they got married. It might be the most plausable Spider-Man movie storyline yet.
A woman in Florida hired a hitman to kill her husband just a few months after they got married. It might be the most plausable Spider-Man movie storyline yet.Actually Lizard/Kraven Combo works.
CC becomes the Lizard, city brings in 'big game hunter' Kraven to stop the monster's rampage. Enter Spiderman to save his friend from the hunter...
I was thinking pretty much the same thing for the Kraven's Last Hunt story. The only difference would be that Kraven's true intention is to hunt Spidey since he views him as the ultimate predator (Kraven's motive for hunting Spider-Man in the comics.) Kraven would then go after Spider-Man when the hero shows up to save The Lizard.
Doing a movie with Scorpion and the Spider-Slayers could be cool too, but it always seemed a little weird for JJJ to be involved in the creation of super-villains. No matter how much he dislikes Spider-Man, paying a mad scientist to create a super-powered robot or scorpion man to capture or kill a vigilante sounds a lot like hiring a hitman to kill your neighbor.
Cheerleader moms in Texas hire hit men to kill their daughter’s rivals on a regular basis. Not too far out on that kind of plot.
I only mean to say it seemed out of character for JJJ. The guy isn't evil. He's just jealous. In a movie, I could see him maybe lending support by way of good press to a government-controlled superhero or crime prevention robot (i.e. Scorpion or Spider-Slayer with a different name) only to have them go crazy and become a villain.
I only mean to say it seemed out of character for JJJ. The guy isn't evil. He's just jealous. In a movie, I could see him maybe lending support by way of good press to a government-controlled superhero or crime prevention robot (i.e. Scorpion or Spider-Slayer with a different name) only to have them go crazy and become a villain.
JJJ in the mainstream comics has traditionally not had problems with many heroes. He gave Steve Rogers the utmost respect, for example, as well as the Avengers (until Spider-Man joined, at least, in the early days of the New Avengers). Spider-Man wears a mask. While other heroes do as well, some of them have served with distinction, e.g. Captain America. JJJ has always in his own way been all about the truth and thinks those that wear masks have something to hide. When you realize Spidey tends to just pop up, deal with a villain, then leave, it kinda makes sense for JJJ to go after him.
Contrast: The Ultimates universe, where JJJ has written Spidey's obituary and come to see that he was a hero.
Contrast again: In the olden days, JJJ did hire people to get rid of Spider-Man. It's like hiring a bounty hunter to take out a villain for him.
The thing about JJJ, the Scorpion, and the Spider-Slayers is that JJ sees Spider-Man as the villain. The Scorpion was an accident, Mac Gargan was a pretty upstanding guy until the procedure that turned him into Scorpion also drove him insane. JJ could also justify ffunding the Spider-Slayers by telling himself that they could have practical law enforcement and military applications once they prove themselves by capturing Spider-Man, thus reducing the chance that a human officer or soldier would be injured. In both cases JJ sees himself as being on the side of the angels, rater than creating a new super villain. In fact if I were writing the script, I would make Scorpion a cop rather than a private investigator, just to drive home the idea to the casual veiwer that JJ thinks he is doing the right thing.
I can understand it in that context and, I suppose in a comic book, it isn't too hard to imagine JJJ going just crazy enough try something like that. If I remember right, there was even a little fallout when it was publicly revealed he had a hand in creating Scorpion.
My understanding of JJJ's relationship with superheroes is that he doesn't mind when they are government-sanctioned or work alongside legitimate law enforcement, and he doesn't trust anyone who appears to be doing good for no apparent gain or credit. I read somewhere once that one of the main reasons he doesn't like Spidey is due to the fact that the wall-crawler does all these good deeds for nothing while he accepts money for publishing stories that might have a positive impact on society. Apparently, it makes him feel like a bit of a heel since he's making a living off of doing good while Spider-Man is working at it for free.