While we will see Tom Holland don the costume for his appearance as Spider-Man in the upcoming Captain America: Civil War, Spidey’s new solo movie won’t come our way till 2017 and director Jon Watts (Cop Car) is already getting his cast in order, with Deadline announcing 19 year old Disney Channel star Zendaya (K.C. Undercover, Shake It Up) has beaten out all comers after quietly testing for a mystery part, and will play a key role alongside Holland, who is also 19, and Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May. Her age appropriateness with Holland ties in with Marvel Studios and Sony’s (they, of course, share the rights to the character) aim to properly tell a high school set story, and not have Peter Parker enter the real world after the first movie. Nothing is known about the role, other than she is named Michelle. She could either be a new character, or Michelle Gonzales, who played a part in the comic book as Parker’s roommate and love interest from 2009 to 2011. Of course, secret option c is that the name is a red herring, and she could be playing an already established character like Mary-Jane or Gwen Stacey.
Also worth noting is The Hollywood Reporter’s Borys Kit reports that this is part of the studios plan to go heavily multi-cultural with this new movie, adding a refreshing diversity to the cast. This will no doubt rub some of the denizens of the Internet up the wrong way, but why should it? Fiction is always open to interpretation, especially when it is transcending mediums, and if they change the ethnicity of an established character, it shouldn’t matter. It’s not about getting the colour of the character’s skin right, it’s about getting the character him or herself right.
Spider-Man is set for release July 7th 2017.
Also worth noting is The Hollywood Reporter’s Borys Kit reports that this is part of the studios plan to go heavily multi-cultural with this new movie, adding a refreshing diversity to the cast. This will no doubt rub some of the denizens of the Internet up the wrong way, but why should it? Fiction is always open to interpretation, especially when it is transcending mediums, and if they change the ethnicity of an established character, it shouldn’t matter. It’s not about getting the colour of the character’s skin right, it’s about getting the character him or herself right.
Sources tell me that Marvel/Sony has been looking to go heavily non-white with the SPIDER-MAN supporting cast.
— Borys Kit (@Borys_Kit) March 7, 2016
Spider-Man is set for release July 7th 2017.
