Sony Pictures has announced that Welsh actor Rhys Ifans will play the villain in the new Spider-Man film, which Marc Webb is directing for a July 3, 2012 debut.  The studio has announced that Ifans will play the villain in the new Spidey movie, but not which of Spider-Man’s many antagonists will be featured in the film. 

The fact that Emma Stone has been tapped to play Gwen Stacy (see “Emma Stone Will Play Gwen Stacy”) has led many comic fans to speculate that the Goblin will be new movie’s bad guy since in the comic the Gwen Stacy and Goblin plotlines are intertwined, but with Sony playing it very coy with the details of the new movie, it is best to wait until there is a definite announcement or at least until substantive word leaks out from trustworthy sources.

Ifans, who has a flair for both comedy and drama, first came to prominence in a featured supporting role in Notting Hill for which he received an Oscar nomination for “Best Supporting Actor.”  He has worked steadily since then including key roles in Pirate Radio, Greenberg, and Sony’s forthcoming Anonymous.  The studio press release announcing Ifan’s casting in Spider-Man touted his work in Anonymous—and as was the case with Emma Stone, it appears once again that Sony likes to reward actors who perform well for the studio with plum roles in other, bigger productions.