Rhys Ifans is a "new" type of villain in The Amazing Spider-Man. The Welsh actor takes on the role of Dr. Curt Connors and his evil alter-ego The Lizard in the film, and director Marc Webb says he's done a "fantastic" job of bringing something different to the franchise.

"I can tell you this much - it's a new villain, something we haven't seen before and villains help define the story in a very specific way. Marvel villains - and Spider-Man villains in particular - are rich and complicated and interesting and Rhys has done just a fantastic job in translating that and there will be a lot of new things to explore for the fans. They're tragic in the Greek sense, meaning it's a competing idea of what's good. They're not just guys, they're people trying to do good or to do the right thing and on that journey that effort becomes subverted or manipulated or it sours. It makes for a much more compelling adversary," said Webb.

However, Marc insists Rhys hasn't diverted too far away from previous villains in other Spider-Man movies: "In the Marvel Universe, traditionally, the villains have more texture. This is open to interpretation because there are so many incarnations of the villains over the years and it varies, but the tradition is there."

The Amazing Spider-Man sees Andrew Garfield take on the role of Peter Parker and his web-crawling alter-ego and the movie will be released next year.