Enter Sandman

***GEEK ALERT***

The villains Tobey Maguire’s character will face in “Spider-Man 3” have been a closely guarded secret over at Sony Pictures.

The last film ended with the stage apparently set for James Franco’s character, Harry Osborne, to become the new Green Goblin – just as he had in the comic books.

However, Sony announced earlier this year that Thomas Hayden Church, fresh off his Oscar nomination for “Sideways,” would play the villain in “Spider-Man 3.” But they never said which villain.

Now the rumors that have circulated since that announcement have been confirmed. Sony has announced Church will play the Sandman – one of the classic Spidey villains I can’t wait to see brought to the big screen.

One mystery still remains. Not long after announcing the casting of Church, Sony announced another villain in the movie will be played by Topher Grace of “That '70s Show.” His character’s identity has yet to be revealed.

If you believe what you read on the Internet, it’s all but confirmed he will be playing Venom. I was a big fan of Venom back when the character first appeared in 1988, but in time Marvel completely overexposed him. I hope this rumor doesn’t prove true because

A. I don’t think you can do justice to the character in one movie.
B. I prefer seeing them stick to the classic villains from the early Stan Lee stories.
C. If you are going to bring Venom to the big screen, Topher Grace is completely wrong for the part. You would be better off with someone like the Rock.

There are also rumors that Grace might be playing Electro, not to mention rumors about an appearance by the Hobgoblin and of course there is the aforementioned possibility of a new Green Goblin.

It’s worth noting Sandman eventually reformed and became a hero. Will that happen in “Spider-Man 3,” with Sandman ultimately teaming up with Spidey to defeat the other villain?

The movie is set to begin filming early in 2006 and released in the theaters in May 2007.