B.J. Novak’s ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2’ Role Revealed
Between all the trailers, TV spots, images, viral sites, and Times Square drop-ins, you’d think we knew everything there was to know about Sony’sThe Amazing Spider-Man 2. But there are still a few secrets thatMarc Webbhas managed to hold onto during that marketing blitz, and one of them is whom exactlyB.J. Novakwould be playing.
Or at least, one of themwas. The director has finally gotten around to revealing the identity of Novak’s character, about ten months after he initially revealed the casting. Hit the jump to find out just howThe Office’s Fire Guy will fit in.
The new info comes to us viaTwitter. While promoting the trailer for Novak’s new bookOne More Thing, he casually referred to the Novak’s character as “A. Smythe,” which we can assume is short for Alistair Smythe.
In the comics, Alistair is the son of Spencer Smythe, whose Spider-Slayer robots were specifically designed to hunt, capture, and kill Spider-Man. After his father dies, Alistair takes over his work, using the advanced technology to turn himself into the Ultimate Spider-Slayer.
Smythe’s inventions were first teased ina viral Daily Bugle articlethat made the rounds last fall. At the time, it was unclear whether the reference was just an offhand nod to the comics or whether the Spider-Slayers would appear in the films themselves. It now looks much more likely that theywillfeature in the films, though we still don’t know how exactly they’re connected to everything else.
What we do know is that Alistair will be part of Oscorp. Webb firstannouncedNovak’s casting last spring by tweeting the photo above along with the caption “Day 38. A supposed rumor about a Dunder-Mifflin takeover of Oscorp?” TheDaily Buglepiece also mentions Spencer Smythe in connection with Oscorp.
Alistair Smythe isn’t the primary villain ofThe Amazing Spider-Man 2— that’d be Electro, played byJamie Foxx— but the fact that Webb’s bothered to cast Novak in the part suggests he’ll get to do something of importance, if not in the next film then in the one after that. Keep an eye out for this innocuous-looking fellow when the film opensMay 2.
