Marvel SPIDER-MAN Era Begins with Holland & Watts

Marvel Studios and Sony have announced that Tom Holland will step into the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the upcoming cooperative venture between the two studios.

Holland, who was among the five actors rumored in the final running for the part, is reported to have screen tested with both Robert Downey, Jr. and Chris Evans. According to the report in Deadline Hollywood, Holland will have scenes with Evans in Captain America: Civil War. Holland had many vocal supporters, including The Impossible director Juan Antonio Bayona.

Amy Pascal, who’s co-producing with Marvel’s Kevin Feige, says of Holland, “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.”

This confirms that a) the new Spider-Man will again be Peter Parker, and b) he will be much younger, probably in high school, as Feige has mentioned in past interviews. Fans of Miles Morales will have to wait just a bit longer, although with Morales headlining a new Spider-Man title at Marvel Comics, it may not be that much longer before we see another webhead (or two or three) on screen.

The announcement also confirms that Jon Watts will direct. Watts, who made a big impression with Cop Car at the Sundance Film Festival, also was involved in The Onion News Network. An unexpected choice, but that’s not a new thing for Marvel. The most notable contenders for the director’s chair, Ted Melfi and Jonathan Levine, took themselves out of consideration last week, according to reports.

Tom Rothman, Sony Pictures Motion Pictures Group Chairman, said, “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.”

After Civil War, Spider-Man flies solo in his first Marvel Studios adventure July 28, 2017.