Let’s Spread a Rumor! Rachel McAdams as the Black Cat in “Spider-Man 4″?

Rachel McAdams gets thrown onto the “Spider-Man” rumor mill. 

Moviehole writer Clint Morris fully acknowledges that this is just a rumor, one of likely many, that Rachel McAdams has met with “Spider-Man” producers about playing the Black Cat in the fourth installment of the webslinger’s movie adventures. But he notes that it comes from Mania, who has been a reliable source in the past. Here’s what Mania’s Rob M. Worley had to say about the character:

Our sources tell us that the Black Cat’s story fits well with Raimi’s Spider-Man formula, which always finds the villains troubling not only the costumed hero, but also becoming entangled in Peter Parker’s personal life as well.

Fans recall that when Spidey first encounters the Black Cat, she’s a cat burgler looking to free her ailing father from prison. She becomes smitten with the web-slinger, to the point of a stalker-level obsession. Later stories had Peter reciprocating her affection and her becoming a lover, a friend and ally (the perfect thing to allow Sony to  create a Spidey spin-off).

He also says that the film would also include a male villain. Sigh. Superhero movies, please stop the multiple villain thing. It never works. The first two Spider-Man movies were good because they were about Spider-Man vs. a Villain and Spider-Man vs. the Complications of His Personal Life. “Spider-Man 3″ tried to work with two villains plus the personal life thing and just ended up with a muddle.

However, while the Black Cat character sounds good enough for the personal life problem side of things, if they did go with her, maybe, much to my regret, they would have to go with another villain, someone who’s trying to destroy Spider-Man. The Black Cat’s stalking Peter Parker (or Spider-Man) isn’t quite enough, in my opinion, for a big summer movie.

Well, anyway, this is all just speculation. Real casting news is probably still a few months away. Until then, we must just content ourselves with rumors. And who knows? If you throw enough rumors at the wall, maybe one will even stick.