娱乐英语新闻:"Spider-Man"'s villain The Lizard is Rhys Ifans

BEIJING, Oct. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Rhys Ifans was previously announced by Sony as the villain in the upcoming "Spider-Man" movie.

And now it's unveiled the identity of the villain: Dr. Curt Connors, The Lizard.

TheWrap.com confirms that Venom, played by Topher Grace in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man 3," will not be in the movie and The Lizard is indeed at least one of the primary villains.

In the comics, Curtis Connors is a gifted surgeon who loses his arm when he goes to serve in the war to help injured GIs.

He becomes obsessed with reptilian regeneration as a potential cure for his amputated arm and develops a serum that, at first, does indeed re-grow his lost appendage. But soon after — in typical comic book fashion — it turns its creator into a monster.

"Spider-Man" is set to begin production in December and will hit theaters in 3-D on July 3, 2012, according to MTV.com reports.

No plot details have been revealed so far. As for the castmembers: Andrew Garfield stars as Peter Parker, while Emma Stone will play Gwen Stacy, and now Ifans as the Lizard.