As superhero fever sweeps across the world and The Amazing Spider-Man’s release date approaches, the film’s Viral Videos Division (I assume this is a thing movies have) is ramping up their efforts and doing everything possible to get the public excited about Spidey’s new screen villain, The Lizard. To that end, two new videos have been released: one that’s structured as a fake recruitment video and feels all virally, and another that looks like the traditional sort of featurette you’d find in a DVD’s special features menu or whatnot.
Here is the first, in which Rhys Ifans – completely in character as the one-armed scientist Dr. Connors – tries to recruit science interns for Oscorp. He has a bit of advice for all of you young people out there, fresh out of school and trying to find your way in the world. There’s one word that he wants to say to you – just one word – but it’s no longer “plastics,” it’s “reptiles.”
If listening to a lecture on the exciting potential of learning about reptiles isn’t exactly your speed, don’t fret, The Amazing Spider-Man also has some footage of a man turning into a monster to keep your attention. This new video blog splices some straight-out-of-the-movie footage of Dr. Connors together with some commentary coming from various people involved in the production. It’s like one of those awful VH1 clip shows, but with a dissection of a Spider-Man villain instead of a dissection of something that happened in the early 90s tabloids. The best part is that the video ends with some footage of the Lizard transformation. It’s probably the most revealing footage of the new Spidey villain that we’ve gotten so far.
What have we learned from this new blitz of viral promotion? Maybe something about the biology of lizards, but mostly just that Rhys Ifans is a sneakily sexy gent. Just look at how cute he is in those stylish scientist glasses. [via /Film]