Earlier this week we reported on a flurry of casting announcements for James Mangold’s The Wolverine, and while normally you’d expect that to be a pretty big deal, fans generally didn’t seem to have much of a reaction to the news. Admittedly, that’s probably because they had begun to realize that the film’s storyline called for mostly unknown Japanese actors in all of the major roles. But not so fast… you didn’t think Fox would avoid having an A-list Hollywood actress in there somewhere, did you? Today we have learned that there is at least one more big name involved in the film, and that is Jessica Biel. Hit the jump for details on the role she will play.

According to Twitch, Biel has been offered the role of Viper, a terrorist and former leader of both HYDRA and the Serpent Squad. Deadline has since piggybacked on that story and apparently confirmed its validity. Viper is not a mutant, but she is highly trained in combat and is a master of stealth and espionage. She also possessed a teleportation ring at one time.

This will be the second time Jessica Biel has starred in a movie based on a Marvel comic, having previously played Abigail Whistler in Blade: Trinity. In this case, it seems a safe bet that she will be playing a villain and will probably team up with Silver Samurai (Will Yun Lee). It’s unclear, however, if the script makes use of a storyline where Viper blackmails Wolverine into marrying her. What do you think, is Jessica Biel a decent choice to play Viper and does this make you more excited for The Wolverine?