Who Should Play Spider-Man?
Last week we learnt the
astonishing news that one of the most famous superheroes is set to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Marvel and Sony made a deal for Spider-Man to join Captain America and Iron Man in
Captain America: Civil War. A new actor will have to take the role of Spider-Man to replace Andrew Garfield, so we at Entertainment Fuse Movies give our top choices to play the wall-crawler.
Steven's Pick: Donald Glover
When the first whiff of a black Spider-Man first hit the internet over
five years ago, there was a shortlist of young actors who became entangled in the discussion as pre-production of Marc Webb's
The Amazing Spider-Man reboot was underway. Then news of the Twitter campaign hit. Then the Facebook campaign. One actor's name was the topic of both: Donald Glover. Since then, there has been solid support for Glover, with many noting his comedic talent and unique personality as a fresh departure from the norm. Seeing as how Glover has actually voiced the character of the
Ultimate universe, it should not be a stretch to see him take up the mantle on the big screen.
No disrespect to Garfield, who did a wonderful job as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, but the fact remains that both
Amazing Spider-Man movies he starred in, while they each had various strong points about them, were not necessary in the first place and brought nothing terribly fresh to the character or his story. Casting an actor like Glover would open the door to truly bring freshness to a character that is the quintessential Everyman. Black, white, red or green, an Everyman is just that. Glover could very well be the way to go, though it remains to be seen if Marvel Studios would actually follow the lead of its comic book counterpart (Ultimate universe or not) and take a real risk like Stan Lee did when he co-created the character.
Cristian's Choice: Logan Lerman
My pick would be Logan Lerman because he has proven in movies like
The Perks of Being a Wallflower and
Fury that he is able to portray a shy innocence mixed with strength, when needed. I also think he could bring charm and wit, which has been untapped so far. He would make an ideal Peter Parker.
Jordan's Choice: Keith Stanfield
While Donald Glover, would make a great Spider-Man, he is “too old” (at 31) to take on the role of the young superhero (or perhaps I'm bitter because Glover was my first choice). At 23, Keith Stanfield (
Short Term 12,
Selma) would bring a fresh perspective to the spandexed hero, and with plenty of acting chops to boot. Plus no comprehensive Spider-Man casting list would be complete without two actor/rappers. After an appearance in Destin Daniel Cretton's short film,
Short Term 12, Stanfield returned to “civilian life,” and had all but given up on his acting career. When time came for Cretton to cast the full-length adaptation of his short, Stanfield was the only member of the original cast to return. Stanfield's turn as the quiet Marcus was mesmerizing, including this
incredibly powerful rap co-written by Stanfield and Cretton. Following up his gripping performance as Marcus, Stanfield co-starred in 2014s
The Purge: Anarchy and
Selma. Stanfield's indelible talent would lend a much-needed gravity to Spider-Man, who suffered a memorable set-back in the form of “goth” Toby McGuire in
Spider-Man 3, and who was stifled by poor writing in the
Amazing Spider-Man reboot.
Kieran's Choice: Max Fowler
Max Fowler is an emerging young actor who has mostly appeared on television roles in the UK and US. He started his career with one off appearances on British TV and in the horror movie
F before gaining his first major role on the BBC drama miniseries
Mayday. American audiences will know him best for his role of Twitch in the third series of
The Killing and he is set to appear in Sony Pictures' adaptation of Brian Michael Bendis'
Powers for the PlayStation Network with Sharlto Copley and Eddie Izzard. Fowler is currently on British TV in a supporting role in the critically acclaimed period drama
Wolf Hall. Fowler is 24-years-old and has a very youthful appearance, often playing high school age characters. He is also a comic-book fan. His Twitter page states his profession as actor/Spider-Man and is a skilled martial artist: you can view his action chops in the short film
Run Rabbit Run. A
Spider-Man movie co-produced by Marvel is going to be a big hit regardless of whoever dons the famous red and blue spandex, so the filmmakers may as well take a chance of casting an emerging actor as everyone's favorite neighborhood Spider-man.
When the first whiff of a black Spider-Man first hit the internet over five years ago, there was a shortlist of young actors who became entangled in the discussion as pre-production of Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man reboot was underway. Then news of the Twitter campaign hit. Then the Facebook campaign. One actor's name was the topic of both: Donald Glover. Since then, there has been solid support for Glover, with many noting his comedic talent and unique personality as a fresh departure from the norm. Seeing as how Glover has actually voiced the character of the Ultimate universe, it should not be a stretch to see him take up the mantle on the big screen.
No disrespect to Garfield, who did a wonderful job as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, but the fact remains that both Amazing Spider-Man movies he starred in, while they each had various strong points about them, were not necessary in the first place and brought nothing terribly fresh to the character or his story. Casting an actor like Glover would open the door to truly bring freshness to a character that is the quintessential Everyman. Black, white, red or green, an Everyman is just that. Glover could very well be the way to go, though it remains to be seen if Marvel Studios would actually follow the lead of its comic book counterpart (Ultimate universe or not) and take a real risk like Stan Lee did when he co-created the character.
Cristian's Choice: Logan Lerman
My pick would be Logan Lerman because he has proven in movies like The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Fury that he is able to portray a shy innocence mixed with strength, when needed. I also think he could bring charm and wit, which has been untapped so far. He would make an ideal Peter Parker.
Jordan's Choice: Keith Stanfield
While Donald Glover, would make a great Spider-Man, he is “too old” (at 31) to take on the role of the young superhero (or perhaps I'm bitter because Glover was my first choice). At 23, Keith Stanfield (Short Term 12, Selma) would bring a fresh perspective to the spandexed hero, and with plenty of acting chops to boot. Plus no comprehensive Spider-Man casting list would be complete without two actor/rappers. After an appearance in Destin Daniel Cretton's short film, Short Term 12, Stanfield returned to “civilian life,” and had all but given up on his acting career. When time came for Cretton to cast the full-length adaptation of his short, Stanfield was the only member of the original cast to return. Stanfield's turn as the quiet Marcus was mesmerizing, including this incredibly powerful rap co-written by Stanfield and Cretton. Following up his gripping performance as Marcus, Stanfield co-starred in 2014s The Purge: Anarchy and Selma. Stanfield's indelible talent would lend a much-needed gravity to Spider-Man, who suffered a memorable set-back in the form of “goth” Toby McGuire in Spider-Man 3, and who was stifled by poor writing in the Amazing Spider-Man reboot.
Kieran's Choice: Max Fowler
Max Fowler is an emerging young actor who has mostly appeared on television roles in the UK and US. He started his career with one off appearances on British TV and in the horror movie F before gaining his first major role on the BBC drama miniseries Mayday. American audiences will know him best for his role of Twitch in the third series of The Killing and he is set to appear in Sony Pictures' adaptation of Brian Michael Bendis' Powers for the PlayStation Network with Sharlto Copley and Eddie Izzard. Fowler is currently on British TV in a supporting role in the critically acclaimed period drama Wolf Hall. Fowler is 24-years-old and has a very youthful appearance, often playing high school age characters. He is also a comic-book fan. His Twitter page states his profession as actor/Spider-Man and is a skilled martial artist: you can view his action chops in the short film Run Rabbit Run. A Spider-Man movie co-produced by Marvel is going to be a big hit regardless of whoever dons the famous red and blue spandex, so the filmmakers may as well take a chance of casting an emerging actor as everyone's favorite neighborhood Spider-man. 
