Updates on Spiderman 4 Villian and Thor Movie

McAdams Out, Stiles in for Spiderman 4

Last week we reported some information about the upcoming Spiderman 4 movie. In the article it said that the character Black Cat, who uses luck to be a successful thief in the Marvel universe, was going to be the villain in Spiderman 4 and actress Rachel McAdams, who is set to star opposite Robert Downey Jr in the upcoming Sherlock Holmes, was at the top of the list to play the baddie.

Well turns out they were just some nasty rumors, at least where McAdams was concerned. McAdams told Entertainment Weekly "That's a total rumor. I was hanging out in Toronto the other day and someone came up to me and said, 'I just heard you're doing Spider-Man 4.' And I said, 'Really? No one told me!' It's not true." While McAdams as Black Cat was just a rumor, the character's role in the movie hasn't gone away, with UGO reporting that Julia Stiles from The Bourne Ultimatum is now in contention for the role, meeting with a casting company in New York.

Personally, I'm not  so fond of the idea of Black Cat as the villain. I don't think she is a strong enough character to hold the film on her own. I was all set for the Lizard to be the villain in this film and after Spiderman 3 was crowded with too many mismatched villains Raimi said "I think having so many villains detracted from the experience. I would agree with the criticism." A strong villain like the Lizard could be paired with Kraven the Hunter so at least the villains would make sense and be able to work off each other.

UPDATE (11/19/2009): Oscar Winner Anne Hathaway, who will star as the White Witch in Burton's Alice in Wonderland, is the latest leading lady to be approached for the role of villain Black Cat in the upcoming Spiderman 4 movie. Sony are remaining tight lipped about the casting of Black Cat despite the considerable buzz the role is attracting.

New Casting News for Thor

In other Marvel movie news Kenneth Branagh's Thor, which is gearing up for filming in Mexico, appears to be assembling an even more epic cast than it already has. Up-and-comer Chris Hemsworth stars as the Asgardian hero while Natalie Portman is signed on and Anthony Hopkins is rumored to play his father, Odin. Now Branagh appears to have added his Warriors Three, three great warriors who are friends of Thor's and aid him on his quest. Previous Marvel hero Ray Stevenson (Punisher: Warzone) will play the big brawling Volstagg, Stuart Townsend (The Queen of the Damned) will play the dashing Fandral and Tadanobu Asano (Mongol) will play Hogun the Grim.

This originally came from Variety and is being treated pretty much as set in stone casting. Branagh certainly has the cast to pull off a very good epic adventure film but once again the worry with Thor is how will it fit in with the rest of the Marvel universe that they are trying so hard to create, which is based on presenting potentially real stories? Head on over to our forums to continue the already started discussion of Spiderman 4 and while your there dish your thoughts on Thor.