Amazing Spider-Man's Lizard Almost Looked Like A Horrifying Michael Fassbender
In 2012, Dr. Curt Connors, aka the Lizard (Rhys Ifans), made his cinematic debut in "The Amazing Spider-Man." For the character's appearance, Sony elected to go in an unconventional route, leaving his comic book look — in the comics, the character's mouth protrudes out much more — behind for a more humanoid take. However, concept art for the film reveals that the villain could've looked even more different.
In April 2020, one of the concept artists for "The Amazing Spider-Man," Jerad S. Marantz, posted an early design of the Lizard on Instagram. "Here's some more fun lizard concept art for amazing Spiderman. Playing around with how many human features I could put into the face. This might've been a middle stage in the transformation, not sure," he wrote. "Here I was adding some Michael Fassbender. At one point he was considered for the role."
The concept art does somewhat resemble actor Michael Fassbender, and the result is even more disturbing than the Lizard fans saw in the film, having an almost Voldermort-like face on a reptile man's body. Everyone involved, especially the fans, seems to have dodged a bullet, as this character design would've undoubtedly left some of Spidey's youngest fans with nightmares.
Lizard's design added emotion to the villain
The concept art for Lizard is so horrifying it makes you look at the positives of the version we saw in "The Amazing Spider-Man." While some fans would've undoubtedly loved to see a more comic-accurate design, Lizard's human-like face seemingly allowed actor Rhys Ifans to add even more emotion to his performance.
"I had a green suit on, and then this cardboard head, and these big claws," Ifans told CinemaBlend in 2011, revealing that it's always him behind the villain, even when he's entirely CGI. "It was the most f****ng insane... Each and every time you see the Lizard, the technology is so advanced now that when the Lizard's eyes move, they're my eyes. If I frown or show any emotion, they're my emotions. That's how spectacularly advanced technology is."
Naturally, none of it would be possible without Sony's movie-making technology. But it especially wouldn't have been easy — or possible at all — to see the Lizard's emotions had the production decided to give the villain a design more akin to the comic books. The Lizard typically has a much more reptilian look, including a long snout with razor-sharp teeth. Given how much Ifans relied on his mouth to convey emotions through smiles and other facial expressions, it likely would've hindered his performance if his character spoke through a massive snout instead. So, while his look in "The Amazing Spider-Man" isn't totally loyal to the comics, maybe it was for the best that Sony found a mix between the horrifying concept art and the Lizard's iconic design.