Jamie Foxx is in full-on hero mode with “Django Unchained,” but it won’t take long for the Oscar winner to tap into his inner villain.
Foxx is slated to cross paths with Andrew Garfield’s friendly neighborhood web-slinger in director Marc Webb’s upcoming “Amazing Spider-Man” sequel. The “Django” actor stars in the superhero flick as Max Dillon, alias Electro, a criminal with the ability to manipulate electricity for his own nefarious needs. But to hear Foxx tell it, the movie version of Dillon isn’t just an out and out bad guy; he’s just a big thinker who never got recognized, until it was far too late.
“You’ll see that in his whole life, no one is talking to him. People have stolen his ideas at the big company. He’s a nobody,” Foxx told MTV News about Electro’s back story in the “Spider-Man” sequel. “At a certain point, Spider-Man bumps into him and says, ‘You’re my guy. You’re my eyes and ears on the street. And he says his name — no one has ever said [Max] Dillon’s name.”
The encounter leaves Dillon reeling with Spider-Man fan fever. “He sort of starts thinking that somehow, he’s Spider-Man’s partner,” Foxx explained. But Dillon’s good fortunes take a turn for the worse when his own mother forgets his birthday, leading to a series of “tragic” and “crazy” events that turn Dillon into the electrically-enhanced nemesis comic book readers are familiar with.
“When it turns on, he lights it up,” the actor teased.
Story details aside, Foxx also addressed his costumed appearance in the “Spider-Man” sequel. Though Electro is best remembered by comics fans for his tight green outfit with a jagged yellow mask, Foxx revealed that the “Amazing” sequel is ditching that classic look in exchange for something considerably more modern.
“It won’t be like that,” Foxx said when asked about the character’s costume from the comics. “Marc Webb and all of those guys, they’re smart. They know that it has to make sense in 2013, so the suit is really slick. It’s actually black. It’s a new age.”
“I’m really excited about it,” the actor added about his upcoming “Spider-Man” appearance. “My daughter is excited about it too. It’s great.”