A New Female Lead for Spider-Man 4 ?

Early last month, director Sam Raimi said that they were about to start casting for Spider-Man 4, but we have yet to hear any official announcements of new talent coming on board. We knew Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst were going to be back, and since then, Dylan Baker revealed that he’ll return as Dr. Curt Connors.

Now, according to Mania, actresses are auditioning for the role of villain Felicia Hardy/Black Cat, and the site says that Rachel McAdams (upcoming Sherlock Holmes) is a frontrunner for the role. Mania adds that they are also casting for a male villain, which would mean we’re looking at two villains for the fourth installment. None of this is confirmed, of course.

In the meantime, fans pointed us to The Observer where actress Romola Garai (Atonement) has a column in which she wrote the following:

“Love is at the root of everything good that has ever happened and will happen.” This phrase swam into focus as I moved up the escalator at Oxford Circus tube on Tuesday morning on my way to put myself “on tape” for a part in Spider-Man 4. This is the acting equivalent of the London Marathon in that it’s important to try your best as long as you understand that you aren’t going to win.

Might she also be going for the Felicia Hardy role? We won’t know for sure until we start hearing official casting news from Sony.

Spider-Man 4 is coming to theaters on May 5, 2011.