Preface/Premise

• Some of my friends have asked me, “John, why haven’t you done a post on the Spider-Man casting!?”
  • Well because if I did, I would have been wrong like three times… (I still think Ansel Elgort would have been awesome…)
• After months upon months of speculation, and rumors and “confirmations” and even more rumors and “confirmations,” Marvel and Sony have finally cast their new Spider-Man and he is: Tom Holland!
• And they have Jon Watts directing.
• So, let’s talk about it because I love Spider-Man and I’m a fan of this.

Tom Holland is Spider-Man

• Okay, so this news coverage is being done because it’s a huge piece of news but I don’t have that huge of an opinion on it…
• Tom Holland: I’ve literally seen him in nothing.
• That being said, I know people have praised him for his role in “The Impossible” and I look forward to seeing him later this year in “In The Heart of the Sea” a movie I seriously can’t wait for.
• I don’t know how true the “shortlists” for this role were, but when I heard it was down to Holland and this other kid Charlie Rowe, going off looks alone and just the few photos I had seen, I thought Charlie Rowe LOOKED like a better fit.
• But either way, I’m glad it wasn’t Asa Butterfield because despite how old (18) or tall (6’0) he is, he still has a very child-like look to him, and he’s well-known for being in Hugo and Ender’s Game so many of us would still see that little kid as our Spider-Man.
  • He’ll have a successful future ahead of him in more artsy films, like Hugo, Spider-Man just wasn’t the role for him.
• But Holland or Rowe both seemed like good choices to me. They looked young enough but not like children, and they both have credible but not super well-known filmography behind them.
• So Marvel and Sony were gonna make either of these kids stars.
• Rowe, like I said, looked like he was Peter Parker from the Civil War graphic novel and I heard that he played a young Andrew Garfield at some point too?
  • I didn’t check to see if that was true or not…
• So I was let down when he wasn’t cast, but then I remembered: Marvel and Sony aren’t casting this based on the graphic novel. They went into screen tests with at least a few actors and they must have seen something with Tom Holland.
  • I actually just found some of the action-test videos they did with him. Thanks Tom Holland’s Instagram! (I’ll give him a Follow.)
• Plus, like I said age-wise, he’s 19. He looks 15. So he has some longevity to him without looking like a child.
  • He kinda looks like a younger Ansel Elgort too, which I guess means close-enough is okay…
• And by the time next year roles around and we see him in Civil War, we’ll likely see him looking like a 16 or 17 year old, and he can keep that age by the time his own solo film roles around in 2017.

Jon Watts is Directing

• Another guy who I have seen nothing from…
• This guy has very little in his filmography though, extremely little.
• Apparently he had a hit at Sundance this year with Clown Car, but I have seen nothing by him.
• From what was said in this announcement, the execs see potential in him and he’s a real up-and-comer.
• What puts my faith in this guy more than anything is that Marvel has taken risks with Joss Whedon, James Gunn, and the Russo Brothers before and they wouldn’t entrust their now most-sacred property with some guy who has no idea what he’s doing.
• I think this guy is a Spider-Man fan and he has a lot of bright ideas that Marvel wants to include, as well as bringing his own originality.
• Speculation, but that’s what I believe.
• And I now need to make it a priority to see Clown Car!

Spidey’s Role in Civil War?

• Back in April I heard a rumor that Spider-Man’s role in Civil War didn’t require an actor to be cast until late May because they would start shooting his scenes in early June.
• So now it’s late June…
• They’ve been shooting this thing for almost two months.
• I hate to be that guy, but remember, as of now, Spider-Man still hasn’t been confirmed to be in Captain America: Civil War!
• We all assume he is, I think 100% he’s gonna be otherwise those screen-tests would be pointless.
• But assuming that rumor I heard was true, and assuming he will be in Civil War, then it looks like he’s gonna have a smaller role…
• I didn’t expect Spider-Man to be a main player in this story, there’s tons of other characters that will make this movie great already, but it will be disappointing if he’s only in like two scenes.
• I think he’ll be in more than that, but looking at the shooting schedule, that could potentially be sad…

In Conclusion

• Regardless guys, I don’t have a HUGE opinion on these particular guys but I am excited to see what Tom Holland will bring to the role based on his previous acclaimed movies, and I can’t wait to see the hopeful vision that Jon Watts has for these characters.
• I think they could be a really great team, and I think that under Marvel’s advisement that Spider-Man could be fantastic again, whether it be in Civil War, his standalone or anything in between.

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But what do you guys think of this news, and who did you want to be cast as the new Spider-Man? Let me know in the comments down below, and as always, thanks for reading guys.