Those who attended the 2011 Comic-Con Sony Pictures Panel were able to get an early glimpse of The Lizard in director Marc Webb's franchise reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man. By virtually all accounts, the CGI villain is pretty massive and does not bear a strong physical resemblance to his comic book incarnation - given his flatter facial structure and lack of any clothing (even a tattered laboratory coat).

Everyone who didn't make it to Comic-Con is hoping to get a glimpse of the reptilian monster in the next Amazing Spider-Man trailer, whenever it arrives. However, we have some tidbits about the costume actor Rhys Ifans wore to portray Dr. Curt Connors' Lizard form, to keep you tided over in the meantime.

Ifans previously opened up about his view of Connors as a tragically-flawed character - and the more grounded tone of Amazing Spider-Man in general - but dropped little in the way of hints concerning what he would look like as The Lizard. A handful of set photos leaked online this past spring, revealing what appeared to be Ifans literally shrouded head to foot  - but, again, they revealed almost nothing about what gear or makeup the actor was donning in order to become a human-sized reptile.

Cinema Blend recently interviewed Ifans, who has the following to say on the matter:

"The majority of the time [in 'The Amazing Spider-Man'] I'm me, I'm a human, not a Lizard. That's hard enough. I did have the CGi suit for certain scenes. The Lizard is 9 feet tall. There was one day that I went on set and they had a double, a big big guy, playing me, as the Lizard. I looked at it and I went "No." Following that Marc [Webb, the director] let me know all the physicality, all the physicality you'll see in the Lizard is my own.

"I had a green suit on, and then this cardboard head, and these big claws. It was the most f***ing insane… Each and every time you see the Lizard, the technology is so advanced now that when the Lizard's eyes move, they're my eyes. If I frown or show any emotion, they're my emotions. That's how spectacularly advanced technology is."

The use of performance-capture suits has become increasingly commonplace in comic book adaptations over the years. Case in point: Robert Downey Jr. donned a mo-cap outfit in order to create the realistic movements of the Iron Man suit; Michael Shannon is wearing similar gear for Man of Steel, since his General Zod costume will be CGI; and many an extra has been spotted dressed in a mo-cap suit on the Avengers set (possibly portraying extraterrestrial invaders). That's not to mention, Ryan Reynold's controversial CGI Green Lantern costume.

It's still amusing to find out exactly what Ifans had on when he duked it out with Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man - or terrorized anyone else during the filming of Amazing Spider-Man. Just goes to show: how something looks in an amateur behind-the-scenes photo can end up being worlds apart from the final product. Best to keep that in mind, before you start jumping to conclusions about, say, whether or not Spidey's shiny silver slippers will just end up being an eyesore in Webb's reboot.

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The Amazing Spider-Man swings into 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D theaters around the U.S. on July 3rd, 2012.

Source: Cinema Blend