Has Morbius, The Living Vampire Been Cast in The Amazing Spider-Man 2?

Will Jamie Foxx's main villain Electro be joined by another well-known Marvel Comics bad-guy in The Amazing Spider-Man 2? Former Marvel Comics writer turned actor Asim Ahmad, 34, claimed on his official website this week that he had been cast in Sony Pictures' web-slinging sequel, securing the role of Professor Michael Morbius. The announcement sent the internet into raptures as Morbius is a significant Spider-Man villain and would be a character many fans would love to see on screen, however the actor later clarified his news on Twitter to say that Morbius was confirmed to just two pages of the screenplay. He then claimed he would appear on screen as the character for about two minutes and will shoot the scene on the Sony lot in California in February. This would hint at a role about as large as Dylan Baker's in the early Spider-Man movies where he portrayed Dr. Curt Connors, director Sam Raimi hinting towards a character he could use in a future sequel as a villain having already been set-up (though in the end obviously it was Rhys Ifans who got to use Connors as a villain in The Amazing Spider-Man reboot). Therefore, Morbius could be being set up to be a major player in the third film, which is already in development, or it could just be a nod from director Marc Webb to the early version of a villain he will probably never use. In the Marvel Comics, Professor Michael Morbius begins to develop vampiric characteristics while trying to cure his own terminal blood disease. He was first introduced as an antagonist in The Amazing Spider-Man #101 (Oct. 1971) and has yet to be used in a feature film. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wBGIUyclmQ Whether or not Ahmad, whose acting work of any note includes small roles in Fright Night, Inception and The Dark Knight (the latter he served primarily as a stuntman for one of the clowns in the opening), is sincere in his claims, we can't say. There has been no word from Sony or Marvel about the casting. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will begin production in New York early next year, based on a screenplay by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Jeff Pinkner, based on an early draft from James Vanderbilt. The film will once again be directed by Marc Webb and will see Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone reprise their roles as Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, respectively. Jamie Foxx is the main villain Electro, Sally Field will reprise Aunt May, whilst Dane DeHaan and Shailene Woodley join the cast as the previous franchise's major players, Harry Osborne and Mary Jane Watson. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will be released in 2D and 3D on May 2nd, 2014.
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Matt Holmes is the co-founder of What Culture, formerly known as Obsessed With Film. He has been blogging about pop culture and entertainment since 2006 and has written over 10,000 articles.