The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was a very busy movie, with Rhino ultimately shoehorned into both the beginning and end of the sequel. It wasn't until those final few minutes that he suited up, of course, but the screen cut to black before we could see the battle play out (with the last shot being one we'd already seen in trailers).
It was a disappointing way to utilise such an iconic villain, though we'd expected Rhino to return in Sony Pictures' planned Sinister Six spin-off.
During a recent conversation with Josh Horowitz, actor Paul Giamatti was asked whether he was ever approached about the project - which had been scheduled for a 2016 release - but revealed he was never asked to take part in the team-up.
"No, no. I don't remember [that]," he explains. "I had just come off of doing a play for a while and so I was a little bit out of it. I don't remember...I don't think they ever talked to me about any of that stuff. Not that I remember, no."
During The Amazing Spider-Man 2's closing credits, Sony teased the team by showcasing the costumes and weaponry associated with The Vulture, Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Chameleon, Kraven the Hunter, and Rhino, suggesting there were at least tentative plans to throw Giamatti into the mix.
You'll also recall rumblings that he was being lined up to return as Rhino in Spider-Man: No Way Home, giving us a Multiversal take on the Sinister Six. Alas, there was no room for him in the threequel and it doesn't sound like anyone even asked the actor to get involved.
"[Laughs] No! I have to admit, I have not followed all the Spider-Man movies," Giamatti responded when asked if he was disappointed not to be part of the project. "I shouldn't be admitting this. I think, in the first place, The Rhino is a tricky one. If you really go Rhino, he's wearing the Rhino suit with the horn and everything. It's hilarious...they didn't do that, they went with the mechanical thing."
Sinister Six was meant to focus on Spider-Man's iconic villains and was part of Sony's broader plans for a shared universe. Drew Goddard, known for his work on The Cabin in the Woods, was attached to write and direct. However, due to Sony's collaboration with Marvel Studios and the integration of Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Sinister Six movie was eventually abandoned in favour of Spider-Man being part of a different shared world.
There are rumblings a new version is on the way, though nothing has been confirmed as we write this. You can hear more from Giamatti on the time he spent playing Rhino in the player below.