Dylan Baker first played Dr. Curt Connors in 2004's Spider-Man 2. Peter Parker's college professor at Columbia University, Connors was also revealed to be a friend of Dr. Otto Octavius and played a key role in the now-revered sequel.
In Spider-Man 3, Connors returned and helped Peter study the Venom symbiote, revealing it was alien in nature. Again, it was a key supporting role for the character, but comic book fans remained eager to see the unassuming scientist transform into The Lizard.
It's no secret that Spider-Man 4 was meant to be released in 2011, with filmmaker Sam Raimi finally deciding to walk away from the movie rather than making another follow-up he wasn't entirely happy with (he famously never wanted to include Venom in the threequel).
Talking to us about his standout role in LaRoy, Texas, Baker confirmed the plan was indeed for Connors to transform into The Lizard in Spider-Man 4.
"I’m afraid that Sam told me, ‘I was writing a script for number four and here came The Lizard. [He was going] all the way,'" the actor confirms in the player above. "They made a change because Sam felt like he would need more time and they said, ‘No, it’s got to open here’ and it wasn’t going to happen for Sam."
"When he left the franchise, I left the franchise! I would have loved to have continued and found what The Lizard was for my Dr. Connors. Luckily, we’ve seen some great Dr. Connors and Lizards since then."
Sony later rebooted the franchise with 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man which saw Rhys Ifans play the iconic baddie. That interpretation of the villain divided opinions, largely because the design was more in line with his earliest comic book appearances.
With Baker ever get the chance to reprise the role? We saw Ifans show up in Spider-Man: No Way Home a few years back, and with the Multiverse in play, it's fair to say that anything is possible.
We'll have more to share with you on that later (in the meantime, you can watch the full interview above now).
Broke and depressed, Ray (John Magaro) is mistaken for a dangerous hitman and given an envelope of cash. Along with his P.I. friend Skip (Steve Zahn), he must escape the actual hitman to make it out of LaRoy alive.
LaRoy, Texas arrives in theaters and on Demand on April 12.