B.J. Novak's 'Amazing Spider-Man 2' Role Revealed

Between all the trailers, TV spots, images, viral sites, and Times Square drop-ins, you'd think we knew everything there was to know about Sony's The Amazing Spider-Man 2. But there are still a few secrets that Marc Webb has managed to hold onto during that marketing blitz, and one of them is whom exactly B.J. Novak would be playing.

Or at least, one of them was. The director has finally gotten around to revealing the identity of Novak's character, about ten months after he initially revealed the casting. Hit the jump to find out just how The Office's Fire Guy will fit in.

The new info comes to us via Twitter. While promoting the trailer for Novak's new book One More Thing, he casually referred to the Novak's character as "A. Smythe," which we can assume is short for Alistair Smythe.

In the comics, Alistair is the son of Spencer Smythe, whose Spider-Slayer robots were specifically designed to hunt, capture, and kill Spider-Man. After his father dies, Alistair takes over his work, using the advanced technology to turn himself into the Ultimate Spider-Slayer.

Smythe's inventions were first teased in a viral Daily Bugle article that made the rounds last fall. At the time, it was unclear whether the reference was just an offhand nod to the comics or whether the Spider-Slayers would appear in the films themselves. It now looks much more likely that they will feature in the films, though we still don't know how exactly they're connected to everything else.

What we do know is that Alistair will be part of Oscorp. Webb first announced Novak's casting last spring by tweeting the photo above along with the caption "Day 38. A supposed rumor about a Dunder-Mifflin takeover of Oscorp?" The Daily Bugle piece also mentions Spencer Smythe in connection with Oscorp.

Alistair Smythe isn't the primary villain of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 — that'd be Electro, played by Jamie Foxx — but the fact that Webb's bothered to cast Novak in the part suggests he'll get to do something of importance, if not in the next film then in the one after that. Keep an eye out for this innocuous-looking fellow when the film opens May 2.