Spider-Man is joining Captain America, Iron Man, and other superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe after an agreement between Sony and Marvel Studios . Young British actor Tom Holland has won the role, while a director and release date have been announced, as well.
After an “extensive search” that included “complex screen tests” that reportedly included on-set tests during Captain America: Civil War shoots, Holland ( IMDB ) was selected to fill the Spider-Man suit. He was previously rumored to be in the running with Charlie Plummer. The 19-year old actor co-starred in the 2012 move The Impossible, about a tourist family caught in Thailand during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. He most recently co-starred in the BBC television mini-series, Wolf Hall . The new Spider-Man film will be his first in the lead role of a movie.
Meanwhile, Cop Car director Jon Watts ( IMDB ) has been pegged as the director for the first Spider-Man film under the auspices of Marvel Studios. Watts previous directed episodes of The Onion News Network before breaking into TV movies. The 2014 horror movie Clown was his first foray out of television.
Here’s your new Spider-Man! http://t.co/IyhRWEENN5 pic.twitter.com/B1y3lPSXRE
— IGN (@IGN) June 23, 2015
Spider-Man is currently slated to be released on July 28, 2017. That’s a year after Captain America: Civil War, and there is no confirmation from Marvel yet that Holland will debut as the webslinger in that film. Spider-Man played a pivotal role in the Marvel Civil War comic series, which has led many fans to expect him to do the same in the next Captain America film that is currently shooting.
This will make the third Marvel film for 2017. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 has a May 5 release for that year, while Thor: Ragnarok is scheduled for November 3. Sony Pictures will finance and provide the distribution for the Spider-Man film, while Marvel producer Kevin Feige will collaborate with Sony’s Amy Pascal on the film.
It’s official: Tom Holland will play #SpiderMan for @Marvel : http://t.co/uVF6P1ErM0 pic.twitter.com/KHMRkuNEsW
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) June 23, 2015
“It’s a big day here at Sony. Kevin, Amy and their teams have done an incredible job,” Sony Pictures Motion Pictures Group Chairman Tom Rothman said. “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.”
“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,” Feige commented.
“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,” Pascal added. “With Tom, we’ve found the perfect actor to bring Spider-Man’s story into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”
