When director Marc Webb rebooted the Spider-man franchise, there were questions over who would fill the shoes of Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and James Franco respectively. Although the first film The Amazing Spider-Man focused on the romance between Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker, it looks like Dunst’s Mary Jane Watson and Franco’s Harry Osborn are being introduced in the second installment.
It is now said that Webb has found his Harry Osborn, who was Peter Parker’s best friend and rival as the Green Goblin. Casting for the role only lasted a few weeks for Sony’s fast moving sequel, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 . Producers looked at Dane DeHaan ( Chronicle ), Alden Ehrenreich ( Beautiful Creatures ), and Brady Corbet ( Melancholia ) for the role of Harry Osborn.
On the other side of the production, Sony looked at a different bunch of thespians to take over the role, testing Sam Claflin ( Snow White and the Huntsman ), Eddie Redmayne ( Les Miserables ), Douglas Booth ( LOL ), and Boyd Holbrook ( Hatfields McCoys ). Claflin, who is the best known because of his new role in the high profiled sequel The Hunter Games: Catching Fire, failed to land the role.
It was announced today that the actor who won out in the end is Dane DeHaan. Dehaan, who resembles a young Leonardo DiCaprio, was confirmed through a tweet by Marc Webb, saying, “Meet Harry Osborn. So excited to have him on board. @danedehaan.” Webb went on to say, “Dane is an exciting and extraordinary young actor and he is a fantastic addition to our cast.” Although Dehaan is an unknown, at the time of nabbing the role of Harry Osborn in 2002, Franco was virtually an unknown, only just receiving praise for his turn in the TNT film James Dean .
Later on, Dane Dehaan posted this tweet in response to winning the role of Harry Osborn:
To say I’m excited is an understatement. #HarryOsborn #ASM2
— Dane DeHaan (@danedehaan) December 3, 2012
DeHaan will join Shailene Woodley as Mary Jane Watson, Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, and Jamie Foxx as villain Electro.
The sequel is said to be released in 3D on May 2, 2014. Production will start in early 2013 in New York.
