Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) won't just have to deal with his mentor Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans) transforming into the hideous reptilian creature known as The Lizard in the new Spider-Man 3D reboot, but now also a red, demon-like being, full of claws, fangs and green eyes. His name is Nels Van Adder, though THR, I would think mistakenly, call him Van Atter. Slumdog Millionaire actor Irrfan Khan is in talks to play the character, who was an employee of Osborn Industries and agreed to be the test subject of Norman Osborne's wacky experiments that in good old Spidey fashion goes horribly wrong, turning him into a monstrous killer. He was once called Proto-Goblin but only ever on the cover page of an issue and never inside the book because the silly name didn't take off. Wikipedia tell us Van Adder's story...
Killing several people and blaming Norman for what has happened to him, Adder proceeds to harass and later attempts to kill him before being knocked out a window in Oscorp by Arthur and George Stacy and fleeing into the wild. In order to escape conviction for what he had done to Van Adder, Norman convinces the police that Van Adder had been experimenting on himself, and that he had secretly been trying to help him.
How much of the above will feature in the new movie is anyone's guess. Interestingly, neither Harry Osbourne or Norman Osbourne have been announced for the film yet - though it's clear they are still casting despite filming just weeks away. Campbell Scott (Damages, Six Degrees) and Julianne Nicholson (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) have joined the cast as Peter Parker's parents, which is interesting as I don't think I've ever read a tale that involved Parker's parents. So maybe we'll see them in flashback, prologue or has director Marc Webb and screenwriter James Vanderbilt got the desire for a major shift from the comics? Annie Parisse who has appeared in a couple of episodes of Rubicon lately, has been mysteriously cast as 'the villain's wife'. Do they mean Mrs. Curt Connors, who presumably MUST be in this story to make The Lizard storyline work to it's maximum potential, or is she playing Mrs. Van Adder? Filming begins in L.A. later this month. Full cast to date; Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) Emma Stone (Gwen Stacy) Rhys Ifans (Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard) Martin Sheen (Uncle Ben) Sally Field (Aunt May) Michael Sheen (Uncle Ben) Denis Leary (Captain Stacy) Irrfan Khan (Nels Van Adder/Proto-Goblin) Campbell Scott & Julianne Nicholson (Peter Parker's Parents) Annie Parisse (either Mrs. Connors or Mrs. Van Adder) .... and rumoured Chris Zylka (Eugene Thompson) Zooey Deschanel (Betty Brant)