Speaking during a recent appearance on the Meet The Movie Press podcast, Jeff Sneider of TheWrap stated the has was “95%” sure that the newest form of Spider-Man from Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures will not be Peter Parker. Sneider said that the incarnation would “most likely [be] black,” with a small chance he could also be Latino. While he did waver on the exact ethnicity of Spider-Man, he was pretty confident on one thing – the character won’t be white.
Sneider also Tweeted that white actors are still auditioning for the role, but it may just be a courtesy of sorts.
White actors are still going out for Spider-Man but their reps are telling me they think Sony is leaning “ethnic.”
— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) February 23, 2015
The most obvious character choice for a black or Latino Spider-Man would be Miles Morales. While Sneider doesn’t name any names on who the character might be, Morales is the most obvious fit as he currently plays the web-sligning hero in Ultimate Spider-Man. He first appeared in Ultimate Fallout #4 to take up the mantle of Spider-Man after Peter Parker’s death at the hands of the Green Goblin.
When news of Sony and Marvel finally playing nice and letting Spider-Man play with the Avengers broke earlier this month, fans let out of a sigh of relief and a squeal of excitement. That excitement was tampered a bit however, when the realization set in that we may see yet another origin story of a white Peter Parker being played out on the big screen. This would make the third such reboot in under twenty years. Desire for a Spider-Man with a different ethnicity was there, but it seemed unlikely given just how iconic Peter Parker is to the character. If what Sneider is saying is true, however, that could all change when Spidey makes his first appearance in a Marvel Studios film with Captain America: Civil War in 2016.
If Marvel plans to use comics as a guideline for future MCU characters, several big names are also due for changes when their actors need to be re-cast, or a character dies in a movie. The comic Thor is now a woman, and Captain America is now black, as Steve Rodger’s friend the Sam Wilson (aka the Falcon) has taken up the role when Rodger’s powers were lost. It may not be a coincidence that Chris Evans’ Captain America is rumored to die in an upcoming film, whether it be Civil War or the third Avengers movie.
It’s also worth noting that one of the producers on the Spider-Man solo film will be Kevin Feige, who is not afraid to do different things when it comes to casting and character choices – such as an all-female Ghostbusters cast.
All of this comes with a mandatory disclaimer that it is just a rumor, and nothing more. Jeff Sneider has been a reliable source in the past, but even he notes that everything he says “should be taken as gossip” if he doesn’t actually write it up on TheWrap. With that said, it’s not hard to at least get a little excited at a thought of a Spider-Man that isn’t yet another Parker.
Last Updated on November 28, 2018.
