After so very much speculation Marvel announced today that they’ve found both a star and a director for their upcoming Spider-Man reboot.
Peter Parker will be played by the surprisingly 19 years old Tom Holland of The Impossible and How I Live Now. Holland beat out Nat Wolff (The Fault in Our Stars), Timothee Chalamet (Homeland, Interstellar), Liam James (The Way Way Back, Psych), rumored front-runner Asa Butterfield (Ender’s Game), and, apparently, every non-white actor.
Meanwhile, Jon Watts has been tapped to direct the film. Watts is not very well known for the films Clown and Cop Car and the TV series Onion News Network and Onion SportsDome.
Both Watts and Holland are largely unknown quantities but the studios seem to have faith on their choices.
Marvel’s Kevin Feige said of Watts,
“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’s Amy Pascal added, regarding Tom 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.”
We’ll find out in July 2017 if they’re right.
