Things have been heating up for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 lately, which is great news. Filming began recently in New York, and director Marc Webb (yes, we really do love that name for the director of a Spider-Man movie) has been tweeting some pics of production people and obscure bits o’ sets and props.

Two bits of news have us particularly excited, however. One is a casting announcement, and it’s a great one. Chris Cooper (The Bourne Identity) has been cast to play Norman Osborn. In the comics and the previous Spider-Man movie, and presumably in this iteration, Norman Osborn becomes the Green Goblin and also happens to be the father of Peter Parker’s best friend Harry Osborn. It should be interesting to see if this movie follows the path of its predecessors. Chris Cooper is terrific, and I’m glad to see him in the role previously played by Willem Dafoe.

The other news is actually a picture, but it’s a great one. Take a look at the new Spidey Suit, and click on it if you want to see it in giant form:

For comparison’s sake, here’s the version from the first The Amazing Spider-Man movie:

I like the new one better! How about you?

In The Amazing Spider-Man™ 2, for Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), life is busy – between taking out the bad guys as Spider-Man and spending time with the person he loves, Gwen (Emma Stone), high school graduation can’t come quickly enough. Peter hasn’t forgotten about the promise he made to Gwen’s father to protect her by staying away – but that’s a promise he just can’t keep. Things will change for Peter when a new villain, Electro (Jamie Foxx), emerges, an old friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), returns, and Peter uncovers new clues about his past.

We have a while to wait for this one; we’ll keep you posted.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2, starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Shailene Woodley, Dane DeHaan, Colm Feore, Paul Giamatti, Chris Cooper, and Sally Field, is slated to hit theaters on May 2, 2014.