Actor will appear in his first standalone pic in 2017

Jun 24, 2015 08:49 GMT  ·  By
The new Spider-Man comes in 2017 from Marvel, will be played by Tom Holland
4 photos
   The new Spider-Man comes in 2017 from Marvel, will be played by Tom Holland

Thanks to a deal between Sony Pictures and Marvel Pictures from February 2015, Spider-Man, Sony’s biggest superhero franchise to date, has been included in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Andrew Garfield, who played Spidey in the 2 “Amazing Spider-Man” movies, has been officially replaced.

Sony’s “Amazing Spider-Man” wasn’t exactly a hit (though it wasn’t a flop either), but the plan was to make it into a trilogy. After the second installment and disagreements with Garfield, this became more unlikely, and Sony’s financial troubles forced it to hand over the rights for the character to Marvel.

Sony will still co-produce and distribute the new “Spider-Man” movies, but the franchise belongs to Marvel now. And speaking of the new franchise, it now has a new leading man.

Tom Holland steps into Tobey Maguire, Garfield’s shoes

You can see the joint press statement from Marvel and Sony below: it announces that British actor Tom Holland will be the next Peter Parker / Spider-Man.

If the name doesn’t ring a bell, it’s understandable: Holland is only 19 years old and his biggest hit to date is “The Impossible,” for which he also won several awards.

Reps from the 2 studios say that his previous performances weighed heavily in their considering him for the part, but it was the screentests he did for them that was the selling point.

Holland will deliver as Peter / Spidey, they promise.

He will appear in his first standalone pic in July 2017, but will first make a cameo in the upcoming “Captain America” installment, “Civil War,” which will serve as his public introduction. So audiences will get a first taste of the latest addition to the MCU in May 2016.

Spider-Man has to be white and straight

To all those fans who were hoping to see Miles Morales as the next Spider-Man, chances of this happening in the next few years are slim to none, even without Holland’s casting.

Last week, a new email obtained in last November’s Sony Hack emerged online, making it crystal clear: Sony wanted a Spider-Man that was white and straight, and was leaving no room for exceptions.

Holland’s Peter Parker fits the bill on both accounts.

Morales would have not: first created in 2011, he replaced Peter Parker as Spider-Man after Peter’s death, and was based on President Barack Obama and actor Danny Glover. He is of Black Hispanic descent and came with stories that earned solid reviews from both fans and the critics, who praised Marvel for offering an astounding role model to non-white kids as well.

For the movies, though, Marvel and Sony are determined to stick with Peter Parker, for now at least.

So here is the new Peter Parker:   

A photo posted by ✌️ (@tomholland2013) on Jun 7, 2015 at 2:28pm PDT

2017 Spider-Man Announcement

Tom Holland is Spider-Man (4 Images)

The new Spider-Man comes in 2017 from Marvel, will be played by Tom Holland
Tom Holland is the new Peter Parker in Marvel's "Spider-Man"Tom Holland's breakout role was in "The Impossible," but he'd been working in the industry for years before that
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