New Spider-Man Movie Casting Dampens Marvel’s Diversity Initiative
Not to take anything away from new Spider-Man actor Tom Holland, but Marvel is going to have a confusing mess on it’s hands.
Right now the most popular man wearing the Spider-Man costume in comics is Miles Morales, the black and Hispanic teenager who took over the main role of Spider-Man upon Peter Parker’s death in the Ultimate Universe. His well-written comic book storyline led to massive fan acceptance of a new type of person in the websuit. The comics detailed his coming to grips with becoming Spider-Man.
Comics took a huge chance by putting a younger, darker person in the iconic role. It worked out wonderfully for them. So some would ask that why, if they’re going to introduce a new actor in the Spider-Man role, along with a new set of movies, they wouldn’t take such a gamble in the cinematic world.
I don’t think there is a problem with movie studios making the decisions that serve their interests, but Marvel has made huge changes to the image of its superheros. For instance, in the comics right now Thor is a woman and Captain America is Falcon, and Falcon is black. There is also a new Avengers team led by Miles Morales’ Spider-Man that is heavily female and non-white, containing almost all the new Marvel characters who underwent race and gender changes from the original holders of their namesakes.
But Marvel’s hesitance to take such measures in its cinematic universe really leads me to question their supposed commitment to diversity. If they want to reassure us that the steps taken will have longer-lasting significance, then I have a few suggestions in regards to Tom Holland Spider-Man potential storylines.
Keep Tom Holland as Spider-Man, but bring Miles Morales into the picture by the second or third film. Yes, this may confuse a film audience unfamiliar with recent comic book events, but you’d win back the comic fans. To be safe, drop hints about Miles Morales in the next few films. This would benefit Marvel and add interest.
It’s true, Marvel did take a big step in its cinematic diversity by having Samuel L. Jackson play Nick Fury, but from the looks of the rest of their casting, that’s as far as they’re currently willing to go. Even comics heavyweight and Spider-Man co-creator, Stan Lee, defended the casting decision to Newsarama.
“I wouldn’t mind, if Peter Parker had originally been black, a Latino, an Indian or anything else, that he stay that way. But we originally made him white. I don’t see any reason to change that.”
To be fair, Stan Lee is referring to Peter Parker as Spider-Man, and changing Peter Parker’s race. But it still doesn’t explain why Marvel didn’t use Miles Morales as their main Spider-Man character, especially since the five more recent Spider-Man films focused on Peter Parker.
[Photo by Mike Pont/Getty Images]
