Paul Giamatti to Play The Rhino in The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Posted by on January 28th, 2013   Filed under: Action, Books/Comics
Source: THR

We learned late last year that Jamie Foxx was in talks to play Electro in Marc Webb’s upcoming sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man, but it wasn’t entirely clear at the time if he would be the sole villain in the movie. Now this week we have learned that there will be at least one more baddie on the prowl and it isn’t the Green Goblin. No, instead it looks like we’re getting the result of another genetic experiment involving human and animal DNA: The Rhino. Paul Giamatti is reportedly circling the role with Felicity Jones also potentially taking on a second unspecified role in the film.

According to THR, Paul Giamatti is in talks to play Aleksei Mikhailovich Sytsevich aka The Rhino in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The character has nearly indestrucable skin, super strength and super speed, and in the comics he also wore a special suit that made him even more impervious to attacks. Whether or not the suit will make an appearance remains to be seen. The role is a dream come true for Giamatti, who was apparently a big fan of the character when he was a kid and publicly stated that he wanted to play the role in a couple of interviews (including one with Conan O’Brien).

Many fans still suspect that this is all leading to the formation of the Sinister Six (even though The Rhino was not one of the original members), but could so many villains be a problem? Could this all result in a repeat of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3? Adding fuel to the fire, some are saying that Felicity Jones might be playing the Black Cat. After all, the character’s real name is Felicia. Coincidence??? Who knows. How do you feel about this latest casting announcement for The Amazing Spider-Man 2?



  • Okay. I’m in.

  • rjdelight

    Agreed. I always loved that character in the comics. Never thought he’d be in any of the movies so it will be interesting to see what they do.

  • MasterBlaster

    The best thing for Spider-man is for the rights to revert back to Marvel. Multiple villains? Didn’t Sony learn anything from the debacle that is Spider-man 3???

  • I hope Marc Webb uses The Rhino as comic relief for the sequel.

  • shawshank

    spider-man 2 shaping up 2 be 2 good 4 u

  • @3

    Because there’s never ever been a non-Marvel controlled comic movie franchise that’s successfully juggled multiple villains in a film. Nope, never…

    I think Sony learned “Hey, maybe it’ll work if we have someone write a script with multiple antagonists in mind that are important parts of the story and not just dictate that they just tack an extra villain on at the end”.

  • Henrik

    first movie was a piece of shit, but damn it if they aren’t reeling me back in with all these promises of cool actors playing new villains.

  • Aaron

    It’s no surprise that there’s a sequel but what is surprising is this casting choice. I feel like Giamatti isn’t intimidating enough to play The Rhino. It may be commercially successful but he just doesn’t do the job for me.

  • Jonny Ashley

    That could be really visually great since he’s such a little guy

  • Brendan

    “Could this all result in a repeat of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3?”

    Well, if this happens, it means another Spider-Man film with a classic villain played by one of the leads of the movie “Sideways.” Another coincidence?

  • Mrespony

    @10 – You’ve stumbled onto Hollywood’s evil plot to get us all drinking Pinot Noir. Watch your back bro, Randy Quaid’s “star whackers” are comin’ for ya!

  • Mrespony

    I used to love the Rhino, I had this Hulk book and record set called The Incredible Hulk at Bay where he battled the Abomination and the Rhino. Quick google search found it presented as a youtube video – check it out!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or2AVWJ3DBI