With The Amazing Spider-Man franchise now at an end, we obviously won’t get to see more of Rhys Ifans’ Lizard. However, he wasn’t expected to be part of Drew Goddard’s Sinister Six, and with no mention of the villain in the sequel, what looked set to be a recurring role for him in the series clearly didn’t pan out. Well, chances are that the Welsh actor probably wouldn’t have considered returning to the role anyway as he doesn’t sound happy with the behind the scenes issues which plagued the movie.
“Anthropologically, it was fascinating,” he said of his role in The Amazing Spider-Man in a recent interview. “If I was an anthropologist, it would have been very valuable… As an actor, it was a lesson. As I got into it, I remember looking into The Lizard and there was one of the comics where Dr. Curt Connors goes home, and he’s messing about with his Lizard-ness. He takes his work home with him, and he eats his kids. I remember thinking at the time, ‘That’s the film I want to be in.’ Not necessarily Dr. Curt Connors eating his kids, but in terms of exploration, in terms of what this film could be about, that was the film. And of course, it could never be that. Whatever you’re told and promised at the beginning of something, when it comes to franchises like that, it’s never ever going to be what ends up on screen.”
Ifans clearly went in to The Amazing Spider-Man expecting a much darker take on the Lizard, something which unfortunately didn’t come to pass. Instead, the villain was arguably pretty forgettable, mostly down to the bland way he was portrayed in the reboot (reshoots neutered him somewhat, especially as the scene in which he killed Dr. Ratha was removed).
As for Marvel’s upcoming take on Spider-Man, the actor doesn’t sound particularly interested, but does have some advice for Marvel! “I have absolutely no opinion on it. No opinion. I hope that when they reboot, there will be more emphasis on the ‘boot’ than the ‘re’, because it needs a kick up the arse.”
SOURCE: Total Film (via CBM)
