Amazing Spider-Man Concept Art Reveals a Much More Accurate Look for Rhino

Spider-Man fans have gotten quite a lot of iterations over the past decade, whether in the realms of live-action, animation, or video games. One of the most controversial takes on the character was easily 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which made some unexpected choices for Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) and those in his ensemble. That was especially the case for the film’s final sequence, which introduced a bizarre take on Aleksei Sytsevich/Rhino (Paul Giamatti). One of the things fans weren’t sure about was the design of Rhino’s robotic exoskeleton — but now we know what it almost looked like. Concept artist Jerad S. Marantz recently took to Instagram to share an early design he did for Rhino, which he says was concocted for the first Amazing Spider-Man.

It’s safe to say that this concept art is much more comic-accurate, while still embracing the idea of Rhino wearing a robotic costume. There’s also something about having Rhino’s head be at the top of the suit – complete with a giant horn – that looks much more appealing than the finished product.

While Rhino only appeared in the film for a few brief moments, it did fulfill a lifelong dream of Giamatti’s to portray the character.

“The real truth is, I saw Paul Giamatti on Conan O’Brien, talking about The Rhino and how much he loved it,” director Marc Webb said in a 2013 interview. “And I was like, ‘I love Paul Giamatti and I think he’s such a brilliant actor’ so I wanted to incorporate that enthusiasm that he had in the movie.”

And of course, Rhino’s cameo was expected to eventually help set up a Sinister Six spinoff movie, a concept that could still see the light of day in Sony’s since-rebooted canon.

“It was really fun [developing Sinister Six]. I wouldn’t have done it had I not thought there was a real opportunity to do something different and exciting and just flat-out bananas,” writer-director Drew Goddard said in 2018. “It was very much me and — a much more commercial version of — the Cabin [in the Woods] mentality. The punk rock mentality that led to Cabin is very much at the core of Sinister Six. That’s a fun one. Who knows, it could see the light of day. It’s funny, I’ve been through a lot of volatility at a lot of different studios. Between MGM and Sony and Fox. At a certain point, you start to realize, ‘Oh, this is just a volatile business’ and you try to stay afloat as the boat rocks back and forth.”

What do you think of this Rhino concept art for The Amazing Spider-Man 2? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below1