Topher Grace joins ''Spider-Man 3''

Topher Grace sure doesn’t waste any time. Fresh off the heels of Fox airing his final regular episode of That ’70s Show on Wednesday, the actor has signed on to play one of two villains in Spider-Man 3, opposite Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, and Thomas Haden Church. The movie, which will be directed by Sam Raimi, is slated for a May 2007 release.

Marvel Studios Chairman/CEO Avi Arad declined to tell MTV this week what character Grace will portray, although if there’s a bell-bottoms-sporting, reefer-toking baddie somewhere in the Marvel archives, we don’t remember it. ”We have a good rule about [casting]: There is no ‘against type.’ You find someone who brings the role of the individual, not the costumed individual, to life,” he explained.

Interestingly enough, the Spider-Man news marks the second time this week that a TV star with the Grace surname has been linked to a big-budget action sequel. Maggie Grace (Lost is reportedly in talks to play Kitty Pryde in X-Men 3, also for Marvel.