Tom Holland Cast as Marvel’s New Spiderman
Finally, finally finally, they have found our new web-slinging savior.
Tobey Maguire played the web-slinger in three films directed by Sam Raimi for Sony and then Andrew Garfield had the chance to play him in two more for Marc Webb, and now for their third attempt – this time partnering with Marvel Studios to fit the Spider-Man franchise into the Marvel Cinematic Universe – they’re going younger on the casting front. Remember, the plan is to have Peter Parker in high school for a while. And we know who’s playing him. Marvel and Sony have found their Peter Parker. “The Impossible” actor Tom Holland is set to play the web-slinging superhero in the next “Spider-Man” franchise, sources confirm to Variety. The actor is first expected to make an appearance in “Captain America: Civil War” in order to properly introduce him into the Marvel film universe, with standalone films to follow. In February, Sony announced a new partnership with Marvel Studios that brings the popular superhero into the Marvel universe and added that the first standalone would bow on July 28, 2017. Former Sony co-chairman Amy Pascal is producing along with Kevin Feige. Holland is repped by WME and can be seen next in “In the Heart of the Sea” opposite Chris Hemsworth. Marvel Studios president of production and overseer of the MCU, Kevin Feige, explains the director choice as another example of Marvel looking for something new and different. “As with James Gunn, Joss Whedon, and the Russo brothers, we love finding new and exciting voices to bring these characters to life. We spent a lot of time with Jon and find his take and work inspiring.” Sony Pictures boss Tom Rothman adds: “It’s a big day here at Sony. Kevin, Amy and their teams have done an incredible job. The Marvel process is very thorough, and that’s why their results are so outstanding. I’m confident Spider-Man will be no exception. I’ve worked with a number of up-and-coming directors who have gone on to be superstars and believe that Jon is just such an outstanding talent. For Spidey himself, we saw many terrific young actors, but Tom’s screen tests were special. All in all, we are off to a roaring start.” And Amy Pascal, previous Sony Pictures head, and now producer on the new Spider-Man venture alongside Kevin Feige also compliments their actor selection: “Sony, Marvel, Kevin and I all knew that for Peter Parker, we had to find a vibrant, talented young actor capable of embodying one of the most well-known characters in the world. With Tom, we’ve found the perfect actor to bring Spider-Man’s story into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.” Holland comes from a dance performance background and brings the needed athleticism (see below) to play Spider-Man. He earned spotlight attention for his performance in The Impossible and we’re hearing good things about his role in Ron Howard’s In the Heart of the Sea. Holland was listed earlier this month as a fruntrunner against Charlie Plummer and Matthew Lintz (after Asa Butterfield dropped out of contention), but we had heard at the time it was actually down to Holland and fellow English actor Charlie Rowe, with Holland being the favorite. Holland shared the following videos via Instagram earlier this week, perhaps in early celebration of his new gig: We know several actors have put on a Spider-Man costume on the Captain America: Civil War set as tests and we’ve heard descriptions of Spidey’s first MCU costume (his homemade one) alongside reports that Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) might craft him a new one, just as he does in the original Civil War story in the comics. |