Neo Darkhalen
Mission zero
The possibility of the Lizard appearing as the villain in Spider-Man 3 was once considered likely, until two different actors, Thomas Haden Church (Sandman) and Topher Grace (Venom), were cast for Spider-Man 3's villains, along with James Franco (The New Goblin). Marvel Studios CEO Avi Arad later confirmed that Dylan Baker would indeed be returning for Spider-Man 3 to reprise the role of Dr. Connors. In the film, Peter turns to Connors to analyze the substance of the Venom symbiote and Connors informs him that it makes one more aggressive and that it has a particular liking for him. At one point during this scene, Connors says, "I'm a physicist, not a biologist", which contradicts the origins of Connors' lizard-related research from the comic books. However, there is a scene in which it shows that Connors was studying lizards in the background, possibly foreshadowing his transformation in a future installment. He is also Peter's quantum mechanics professor in this film, which suggests it might be the same semester as, or a continuation of the course, shown in Spider-Man 2, though a different classroom full of new students is shown.
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