Topher Grace Vs. Your Friendly Neighborhood SPIDER-MAN'

Ahoy, squirts... Quint here and I'll be goddamned if this isn't the weirdest bit of casting yet. I love Topher Grace, who has just been announced by HOLLYWOOD REPORTER as being cast as the 2nd of two villains in SPIDER-MAN 3, but I'm a little confused by this casting.

Don't get me wrong. I love the idea of Grace in the movie. However, if the rumblings I've heard about who villain #2 is going to be are true... then this doesn't fit.

He have a source deep inside Sony who has seen the wardrobe and effects tests. These tests were later confirmed by Raimi. The source said there was a ton of sand being used, which fit in with all the Sandman rumblings I've heard out of the industry. We've heard from him/her/it very recently and he/she/it made mention of seeing something else.

There were apparently 3 different busts featuring VENOM in different poses. One, apparently, had an arm pointing its claw-like fingers out, one had an open "monster mouth" and one was just a regular bust. These were in the vein of McFarlane's vision of the character. There was also a lot of black cloth laying about the wardrobe area.

I've been sure Venom wasn't going to be in the film, but this source has nailed a few specifics in the past, so I'm inclined to believe him/her/it.

If this is true, then does that mean Topher Grace is Venom? That doesn't fit. I could see Thomas Hayden Church as Venom, though. So, then does that mean Topher is Sandman? He's not a fit for either character.

But no matter what, we know that Topher Grace is playing one of two villains in SPIDER-MAN 3 and Thomas Hayden Church is playing the other villain. I love Venom as the polar opposite of SPIDER-MAN, but would rather see him develope over a couple movies... and certainly not being in a movie with Sandman, who has very, very similar powers. What do you folks think?