According to /Film, the guys over at Hey U Guys have confirmed that Black Cat/Felicia Hardy will indeed be in Spider-Man 4.

Reportedly, director Sam Raimi has been considering Rachel McAdams and Romola Garai as potential female leads. While it has been rumored that they are auditioning to play Black Cat, this news has yet to be officially confirmed.

A quote from Hey U Guys let’s us know what is exactly that they’ve stumbled onto.

According to our friendly neighbourhood spider-source there are a number of actresses currently being considered for the role, but this at least confirms that Hardy is going to be in the film. We were also given a rough outline of the character’s story arc.

Their report goes on to tell us that the big screen Felicia Hardy is not the daughter of a cat burglar, like the original, but that he is instead in charge of the Daily Bugle. Presumably, this is how she comes to know Peter Parker, who she then goes on to fall in love with and discover the secret identity of, which will put both of them in danger.

Hardy’s father is also reportedly a villain in some sense, although it is likely he isn’t a costumed one. Then again, Hey U Guys reports that their source kept referring to this guy as “viper”, over and over. Who is that? I have no idea.

Hey U Guys also states that it is her father’s death that catapults Hardy into her new life style. /Film seems to think that this could be because an unmasked Peter Parker is unable to save him, thus creating a nice storyline of the importance that Spider-Man remain anonymous. I like it, but who knows?

With all this talk of Felicia Hardy, it is becoming more likely that Raimi may intend to kill off Mary Jane. This is even more likely if you consider that Raimi has reportedly wanted to get “back to basics.” Too many story lines and characters can add up to what we saw in Spider-Man 3, and no one wants that.

We will keep you updated with any more Spidey news as it becomes available.