A press release plopped out of my inbox this morning, and here’s the really short version: recent Oscar nominee Thomas Haden Church ("Sideways," "George of the Jungle") has been cast as the new villain for "Spider-Man 3," although the producers are apparently keeping tight wraps on who that villain will actually be. But if you read this interview with special effects artist Tim Phoenix, you’ll come across the following passage: "He’s under contract not to talk much about ‘Spider-Man 3,’ but Phoenix did say that the crew is in the conceptual design process for the villains, who are Man-Wolf and Venom." And since we all know that the Man-Wolf alter-ego has already been introduced in "Spider-Man 2" (he’s Jonah Jameson’s astronaut son), simple logic dictates that Tom Church will be playing Venom. Obviously this has not been confirmed yet, but all the pieces seem to fit. You can check out the history of this villain (who’s really quite creepy-looking) at the Sam Ruby Spidey site. "Spider-Man 3" is presently scheduled for release in May of 2007.
