UPDATE: Director Jon Watts notes in the full Empire interview that Ifans and Haden Church's involvement "are rumours," though his tone is described as "deadpan."

Tom Holland is going to have more villains than he can handle in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Ahead of the film's highly anticipated second trailer, an article from Empire magazine has confirmed that actors Rhys Ifans and Thomas Haden Church will be a part of Spider-Man: No Way Home's ensemble cast. Ifans previously played Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard opposite Andrew Garfield in Amazing Spider-Man, while Thomas Haden Church played the Sandman opposite Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man 3.

RELATED: One of Spider-Man: No Way Home's 'Coolest Scenes' Was Shot with a Mystery Star

The article specifically names both Ifans' and Haden Church's characters as factors in the film. It also shows the return of Dr. Otto Octavius, with actor Alfred Molina reprising the role for the first time since 2004's Spider-Man 2. These new images highlight the lengths that the production team went to in order to recapture the magic of Doc Ock's design using practical effects. One still image from the movie shows Holland's Spidey getting his skull crushed by a tentacle in a maneuver that calls back to the fights from Sam Raimi's fan-favorite film.

The first trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home revealed that it would have a multiversal scale. In addition to confirming the involvement of Molina, the trailer showed a pumpkin bomb that plainly hinted at the return of the Green Goblin. However, eagle-eyed viewers did some digging and discovered that the trailer also seemingly had the Lizard hiding in plain sight. Additionally, Sandman's involvement was teased in an alternate cover to Empire magazine, for the very same issue that confirms Ifans and Haden Church's involvement.

RELATED: Spider-Man: Tom Holland Explains Why He Hasn't Spoiled No Way Home

The Lizard, Sandman and Doc Ock are three of the classic Spider-Man baddies that'll be returning to haunt the wall-crawler in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Along with the expected returns of Green Goblin and Electro, they'll be amongst the ranks of the not-quite the Sinister Six. None of these characters have previously appeared in the proper Marvel Cinematic Universe and will be jumping over from Sony's Spider-Man and Amazing Spider-Man franchises. Still, the question remains if they'll be bringing their own Spider-Men into the MCU with them.

Spider-Man: No Way Home will be the third solo Spidey film with Holland's iteration of Peter Parker. The actor first put on the hero's signature suit in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, and he reprised the role in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame as well.

Holland recently teased that No Way Home will be the end of a franchise, saying. "I think if we were lucky enough to dive into these characters again, you'd be seeing a very different version. It would no longer be the Homecoming trilogy."

RELATED: Marvel's Kevin Feige on 'Mind-Blowing' Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange 2 Connection

Spider-Man: No Way Home arrives in theaters Dec. 17.

Source: Twitter