Zooey Deschanel is talking with director Marc Webb about joining the cast of the 2012 Spider-Man Reboot as Elizabeth "Betty" Brant, a sexy secretary at the Daily Bugle.

When it comes to casting rumors, most concern an actor or actress collaborating with a director that he/she previously worked with. These range from Cillian Murphy working with Danny Boyle in 127 Hours to Joseph Gordon-Levitt working with Christopher Nolan in The Dark Knight Rises. Only a fraction of these turn out to be true. So don't get your hopes too high, Zooey lovers.

Deschanel would be the perfect choice. The actress appeals to comic book geeks in that she's kind of a geek herself, or at least she often portrays one. She's starred as a quirky indie chick in Webb's 500 Days of Summer. She also had a role as Sarah Jessica Parker's antisocial, misfit friend in Failure to Launch.

Still, she's pretty enough to attract mainstream audiences. She'll have no trouble outshining Kirsten Dunst, who starred as Mary Jane Watson in the previous three Spider-Man movies. The snaggle-toothed Dunst disappointed many spidey fans.

As Spider-Man aficionados already know, Betty Brant is only a minor character in the comic strip. That's when a second theory comes into play: Director Webb wants to expand the role. How much will he change the story line for Zooey? Altering a plot to further develop a character can get tricky. However, John Hillcoat accomplished the feat when he added scenes to The Road (based on the book by Cormac McCarthy) to incorporate Charlize Theron.

Regardless of the size of the role, Zooey Deschanel's doe eyes and dark hair make her a natural pick. So will she share an upside-down kiss with the web-throwing superhero? Or will she stay out of the web?

Either way, the publicity alone has already vaulted Zooey up the chart of geek babes.