Paul Giamatti to play a villain in `Spider-Man 2`?

Los Angeles: Actor Paul Giamatti is in negotiations to join the star cast of `The Amazing Spider-Man 2` as villain The Rhino.

Actress Felicity Jones is also in talks for a role in the movie franchise which will see Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone return as Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy. `Django Unchained` star Jamie Foxx is portraying bad guy Electro, Shailene Woodley Mary Jane Watson and Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborne. The Rhino first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man No 41 in 1966 as a thug from a Soviet Bloc country who wore a superhuman suit that made him invulnerable while giving him superstrength and superspeed. It also had a deadly horn on top, the Hollywood Reporter said. In more recent comics, he became a sympathetic figure who found himself allying with Spider-Man. Giamatti has expressed a desire to portray the role in the past, saying The Rhino was one of his favorite characters while growing up. "I thought Rhino was the greatest thing when I was a little kid. It was a guy who was basically in this rhinoceros outfit, and I always thought, `Why don`t they have The Rhino in one of their movies.` But maybe The Rhino wasn`t that big of a deal for anybody but me... If they ever go with The Rhino, I would be ready and waiting," he had said in 2011. The actor is best known for his supporting roles in films like `The Truman Show`, `Saving Private Ryan` and `The Negotiator`. PTI