The Amazing Spider-Man 2's Foxx Compares Fan Reaction to Electro to Batfleck

In a new interview with Empire magazine, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 villain Jamie Foxx dismissed concerns about fan responses to his casting and the the Ultimate-friendly look of Electro in the film, comparing the complaints to fears over the casting of Christian Bale, Heath Ledger and Ben Affleck in Batman and Batman-adjacent roles. "It used to be people would wait until they saw the film to decide their opinion," Foxx told Empire. "Now it's, 'Ben Affleck is Batman?! How f---ing dare you!' What's that all about? These blogs don't like anything. Christian Bale. Heath Ledger. They weren't happy - until they saw them. So you have to not give too much to it." The Oscar winner, an avowed comic book fan, has also been connected to the role of Al Simmons in Todd McFarlane's proposed film-and-animation Spawn reboot--a role fans have been much more enthusiastic about. For Electro, though, part of the problem seems to be that they're not going with the classic Marvel Universe look for the character--one that often draws chuckles, and probably would have been hard to play totally straight. Regarding the film's tone, Foxx said that he wanted Electro to be a dark and menacing villain--and that he looked to some cinematic icons for inspiration in playing the part. "I didn't want Electro to be funny at all," Foxx said. "This is a man who's angry. He's mad at the gods. He's just using Spider-Man and these people as an excuse to act out and be evil. The voice is from me watching Clint Eastwood and Alec Baldwin. The great whisperers."