'Amazing Spider-Man 2' Viral Site Hints At Venom And Hobgoblin

Here's what we know about the bad guys in Marc Webb's 2014 sequel, The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Jamie Foxx plays Electro in a leading role. Paul Giamatti is Rhino, in a supporting role and Chris Cooper and Dane DeHaan play Norman and Harry Osborn, who may or may not become Green Goblins. Several of those actors have also hinted that the film, which will be followed by two more sequels, is building to a Sinister Six storyline (think The Avengers of bad guys). But until we see a trailer, or more importantly the film, how far along this movie takes that idea will be up for discussion.

A viral marketing website keeps providing more clues, though. The Daily Bugle Tumblr continues to report "news" from the Spider-Man universe and in the latest post, three names are mentioned that tie directly into the histories of famous Spidey villains Venom and Hobgoblin.

Here's the story from the Daily Bugle Tumblr, written by "Ned Leeds"

A trial date has been set in the New York Appellate Court for alleged bio-terrorist Dr. Curt Connors. The former Oscorp biogenetics scientist has been indicted on twenty city and state counts, including trespassing, malicious destruction of property, theft of private property, aggravated assault, and using a weapon of mass destruction. Connors has pleaded "not guilty" to all counts. It is expected his defense attorney, Anne Weying, will claim Connors was not responsible for the actions of his genetically transformed alter ego, the Lizard.

Connors claimed that pressure placed on him by his employer, Oscorp, led him to rush his bio-restorative formula and test it on himself. He further stipulated to the grand jury that his decision to use the untested compound was made in an effort to protect the company from experimenting on innocent civilians, as directed by his superiors. Connors' immediate supervisor at Oscorp, Dr. Rajit Ratha, has been missing since the day before the Lizard's attack.

Oscorp spokesman, Donald Menken, responded, "We can't corroborate or deny Dr. Connor's claims. Dr. Ratha's abrupt departure from Oscorp has left us with far more questions than answers. Needless to say, Oscorp has always complied with the most stringent local, state and federal regulations for all of our research and development."

Most of that refers to events that took place in Marc Webb's first Amazing Spider-Man. But then there are the names mentioned...

Coming Soon alerted us to this and provided the following information from the comic book history of Spider-Man.

Thanks again to CS for the info.

So does that mean we'll see Hobgoblin and Venom in upcoming Amazing Spider-Man films? Not specifically, but those two characters seem like really good bets moving ahead considering their popularity and one-time membership in the Sinister Six. Surely whomever is handling the viral knows the point of the campaign is to create chatter and give hints too, so this certainly isn't a coincidence. What do you think?