Earlier in April, a slew of young rising stars like Nat Wolff and Timothee Chalamet were reportedly being shortlisted to star as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Marvel and Sony‘s “Spider-Man” reboot. “Hugo” actor Asa Butterfield emerged as the frontrunner for the role, as a source told Latino Review’s Kevin Chavez that “Marvel had liked him since day one”.
Sadly, you will need to scratch him off the “Spider-Man” wish list as a recent casting rumour indicated that he is no longer in contention to play the web slinger.
The Hollywood Reporter earlier broke the news that a total of 6 actors, including Butterfield, Tom Holland, Judah Lewis, Matthew Lintz, Charlie Plummer, and Charlie Rowe, were flown to Atlanta for a “secretive, all-day screen-testing process” on 30th May. The location is, coincidentally, where “Captain America: Civil War” is currently being filmed.
Though it was rumoured that Butterfield already landed the role, TheWrap‘s Jeff Sneider revealed on the latest episode of “Meet The Movie Press Live” that Butterfield is apparently out of the picture as there are only 3 contenders left in the casting process.
As you may have guessed, the casting rumour quickly blew up the Internet. Sneider then went on Twitter to drop another piece of information, saying that the new “Spidey will be 18+”. He also clarified that he was just passing along the rumour that he’d heard about Asa being out:
Charlie Rowe might as well BE Andrew Garfield. My sources doubt it'll be him. Too classically good-looking. BUT point is, Spidey will be 18+
— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) June 12, 2015
Also, to be clear, THE WRAP didn't report anything. Neither did I. I just passed along the rumor I'd heard about Asa being out. (continued)
— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) June 12, 2015
What you people don't seem to understand is that if it was confirmed, I would have run it ON THE SITE. Not dropped it on my UNPAID podcast.
— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) June 12, 2015
Meanwhile, Heroic Hollywood revealed that Butterfield could have broken his deal with Marvel and Sony due to the comments he previously left on Reddit.
The “Hugo” star created the verified screename, “Stimpers”, for an AMA session he did on Reddit a few years ago. After news broke that he was the frontrunner for the part as Spider-Man, a link to that story was posted on Reddit. The actor himself chimed into the discussion and made 2 comments before deleting them.
As many media outlets have been using his old images that made him seem like he was shorter than he looks, he eliminated the misconception about his height by revealing that he is currently 6′ tall. All his comments revolving Spider-Man have been deleted, but it is unclear whether Marvel or his agent instructed him to delete them.
As for the actors who are still in the running to play the web slinger, Sneider said that the contenders are down to Tom Holland, Charlie Plummer, and Matthew Lintz.
However, casting came to a standstill as Marvel prefers Plummer while Sony favours Holland. In fact, it was reported that Sony is desperate to cast Holland to the extent of pushing him ahead as the new frontrunner.
The final casting decision will be made as soon as this week, as the new actor may start playing Spider-Man on the set of “Captain America: Civil War” in July. The “Captain America” film will be released on 6th May 2016 while the Spider-Man solo movie will hit theatres on 27th July 2017.
So, what do you think of the casting rumour? Who do you think should play the new Spider-Man? Let us know in the comments box below.
Sources: Heroic Hollywood, comicbook.com.
