If you believe in Hollywood rumors then you might have heard the recent buzz via Movieline claiming that Anne Hathaway and John Malkovich have both been offered the villainous role as the Vulture in Sam Raimi’s upcoming “Spider-Man 4.”
While it’s obvious that Malkovich would play a great Adrian Toomers, an aged crook with a pair of hi-tech mechanical vulture wings, the rumor has the always lovely Hathaway playing his… Vulturess sidekick?
Yes, Toomes won’t be alone apparently, as he’ll be joined by a female Vulture character with the same hi-tech mechanical vulture wings do-hickey. Spidey fans mustn’t act so perplex, the Vulturess hasn’t appeared in any past or recent Spider-Man comic books, and would be akin to a completely made up Hollywood character/villains such as James Franco’s New Goblin from Spider-Man 3. And similar to Franco’s New Goblin character, it wouldn’t be an entirely a new creation, but rather a re-imagining of a preexisting one from the comics.
This leads to the second rumor, that perhaps Hathaway will be in line to become “Spider-Man 4’s” new Felicia Hardy. However, instead of Black Cat, a white-haired vixen who entered our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man’s already much complicated life as, she’ll appear as a villainous Vulturess who ends up falls for Spider-Man.
Perhaps not one of Hollywood’s best kept secrets, it’s practically written in stone that Felicia Hardy will appear in “Spider-Man 4.” Considering over the past last months, virtually every up and coming Hollywood starlet has been rumored to be interested in the role, from Romola Garai to Rachel McAdams.
According to Cinematical, if this re-imagining of the Black Cat does happen, it’s attributed to Sony and Marvel’s fears that the audience would confuse The Black Cat with Catwoman, or at least think she’s a rip off of Batman’s notorious feline nemesis who is much more well known within the popular culture.
“Spider-Man 4” doesn’t start filming until March and is scheduled for a May 6, 2011 release. In the meantime, we can only pray that Raimi reconsiders this Vulturess rumor. Just think about it, Anne Hathaway as a bald green vulture, or Anne Hathaway in a white wig and an all revealing skin-tight vinyl cat costume… just think about it.