Love it or hate it, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 is coming our way, this time with a host of new characters, from Shailene Woodley as Mary Jane Watson, Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn, and Oscar winner Jamie Foxx as the classic villain Electro. Foxx has been exceptionally enthusiastic about the role and being a part of Spider-Man's, ahem, web, although his casting does come as a bit of a surprise. I don't think it's so much about race as it is about character. Foxx has got a very strong screen presence and feels much better suited to a bigger and better villain role instead of the squirrely second-tier Electro.

In keeping with director Marc Webb's approach, which is a bit of a modernization/update, rather than a straight adaptation, Foxx commented to Blackfilm about Electro's costume, saying:

"It won’t be green and yellow. It will be a different color. They (the producers) want something for the future. They want to have it more grounded and not as comic bookie, so it won’t be green and yellow. They want to try new things, like a liquid rubber and things like that, and there are all these bolts and stuff in my arms when they are hanging me upside down and trying to figure out what happen. How did he become this way? So, it will be some new stuff.

In the script, this villain is the first time it’s be written really, really well. Andrew Garfield and Marc Webb both commented on how great the script is, so it should be an exciting time"

It's hard to get upset over Foxx not having the blooming-flower-of-electricity mask in traditional colors for the character since it is rather ridiculous, but at the same time it always bothers me when they don't even try. Remember those screentests for the original Green Goblin mask in the first Spider-Man? Yeah, I would've taken that over the Power Rangers suit any day of the week.

I saw THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN in theaters and it just didn't do it for me. I know that many loved it and that's just fine, but for me it was just too damn redundant and uninspired. I'm willing to give the sequel a shot, though, as I thought that Andrew Garfield was great and Emma Stone was just lovely. I think that Foxx as Electro is kind of a waste of a villain and a great actor, but that's just me (or is it?). Shailene Woodley and Dane DeHaan are inspired casting for their respective roles as well, so that gives me some hope that the sequel will be better than the yawn-inducing first entry.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 is swinging to theaters on May 2, 2014.