This is one bit of news I don’t think anyone saw coming, especially today. Django Unchained star, Jamie Foxx is indeed in early talks to star as the/one of the main villains of The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Earlier this year, Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man rebooted the web-slinging franchise with much success. Instead of kicking off the story with the obvious villain, The Green Goblin, Webb went with The Lizard — a choice that had many questioning the reboot from the start. For the second installment, Webb visited the comics of 1964, back when Stan Lee and Steve Ditko first gave birth to Max Dillon’s alter ego, Electro.
Who Is Electro?
The character has a long history with Marvel, as he crosses into several different titles — X-men, Daredevil, Iron Man, The Avengers.
Maxwell Dillon was an electrical engineer who happened to be repairing a power line when a lightning accident turned him into a walking electrical capacitor. He has the ability to control lightning, and when his body is charged to full capacity he’s super fast and super strong.
Fans of the comics saw this coming when the mid-credit sequence in The Amazing Spider-Man featured a figure approaching an imprisoned Dr. Connors. Seconds later, that mysterious figure vanished in a flash of lightning. Fanboys spotted the easter egg a mile away.
Jamie Foxx Feels the Power
Variety reported that Foxx is in early talks with Sony to play the character. The relationship between the two shows no sign of slowing down; Sony’s responsible for Django Unchained‘s distribution and Foxx is set to star alongside the studio’s upcoming action flick White House Down, which also stars Channing Tatum and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Check out Foxx’s last tweet which went out about seven hours ago:
Dressed up as Electro for Halloween last night. Costume fits well.
— Jamie Foxx (@iamjamiefoxx) November 1, 2012
I think this is more than just a coincidence. Let’s go ahead and address what really shouldn’t be an issue, but has been a hot topic on several message boards — Jamie Foxx may play a historically Caucasian character. Once again the superhero genre has shown that they have the ability to cast in a non-traditional manner; the late Michael Clarke Duncan played Kingpin in Daredevil and Idris Elba was cast as Heimdall in Thor. Both castings caused quite an uproar among dedicated fans.
I have no problem with non-traditional casting, as long as it makes sense with the character’s history. I think it’s an interesting take on Electro, and I have no doubt that Foxx will knock it out the park. I commend the superhero genre for taking a bold step in the right direction.
I’m more interested in the costume design. Electro may be one of the more difficult characters to bring to the big screen mainly due to the mask; that, and he’s been a villain many haven’t taken seriously in the past. But the mask won’t be much of a problem as the character’s done without the classic look for a while now.
Question is: Will Webb make him a comedic villain more along the line of The Riddler or will he fall into darker territory? Let’s not forget, Foxx is a comedian.
What Do You Guys Think?
Is Jamie Foxx the right man for the role? If not, who do you think should play Electro? Also, do you think there’s room for another villain in The Amazing Spider-Man 2?
Directed by Marc Webb The Amazing Spider-Man 2 slams into theaters March 2nd, 2014.
