Tom Holland is Marvel's Spider-Man, Jon Watts is Directing!
Marvel has found its Spider-Man in the new face of Tom Holland! The studio and Sony have also announced Jon Watts as director!
Hold onto your webs, true believers. We have a new Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man hitting the big screen! With Captain America: Civil War well under way in its production, the film that will introduce us to the Marvel Studios web-head has found its Peter Parker: Tom Holland. The 19-year-old actor and relative unknown has beaten out the competition to don the (presumably) red and blue tights. He will also be joining director Jon Watts for 2017's solo Spider-Man film.
Sony Pictures made the announcement jointly with both Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and Sony's Amy Pascal acting as producers on the film. They revealed that they went through extensive screen tests and casting before deciding Holland was the best choice for the web-shooters. Holland, perhaps best known for appearing in The Impossible, is certainly more unknown than the far older Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield castings from Sony, which both found the actors pushing 30 and coming off major critical successes. Compartively, you might know Holland best for playing the son of Thomas Cromwell on BBC/PBS' Wolf Hall. He also is set to star in Ron Howard's whaling epic, In the Heart of the Sea.
“It’s a big day here at Sony. Kevin, Amy and their teams have done an incredible job,” said Tom Rothman, chairman of Sony Pictures Motion Pictures Group. “The Marvel process is very thorough, and that’s why their results are so outstanding. I’m confident Spider-Man will be no exception. I’ve worked with a number of up-and-coming directors who have gone on to be superstars and believe that Jon is just such an outstanding talent. For Spidey himself, we saw many terrific young actors, but Tom’s screen tests were special. All in all, we are off to a roaring start.”
“As with James Gunn, Joss Whedon, and the Russo brothers, we love finding new and exciting voices to bring these characters to life,” Kevin Feige added “We spent a lot of time with Jon and find his take and work inspiring.”
Amy Pascal added, “Sony, Marvel, Kevin and I all knew that for Peter Parker, we had to find a vibrant, talented young actor capable of embodying one of the most well-known characters in the world. With Tom, we’ve found the perfect actor to bring Spider-Man’s story into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”
It is well known that Marvel has been testing much of young Hollywood for the coveted MCU Spidey role. Such names as Hugo's Asa Butterfield and Boardwalk Empire's Charlie Plummer were in close contention for the part. However, it seems Marvel is perhaps wisely searching for an actor with less notoriety as Maguire had coming off critical hits like Cider House Rules, Ride with the Devil, and Pleasantville, as did Andrew Garfield who memorably played Eduardo Saverin in the Oscar nominated The Social Network. Marvel seems to be intentionally going another way with its casting of an actual teenage Spidey. Then again, considering how the previous Sony Spider-Man series went for Andrew Garfield (which Pascal oversaw as then-studio chief), perhaps more well-known actors would be less excited about telling the Peter Parker saga.
Jon Watts though is the real wild card. Previously, it was believed that Drew Goddard was a shoe-in to direct this untitled Spider-Man film since he had previously created and written the pilot for Marvel's Daredevil series on Netflix, which he then departed to work on an ill-fated Sinister Six spin-off at Sony. Yet, Marvel intentionally has gone for a complete unknown with Jon Watts whose only released feature film to date is Clown, a micro-budget indie horror movie about a dad who discovers a clown suit he bought for his son's birthday will turn him into an evil, murderous monster. Watts also wrote and directed the yet-released Cop Car, which stars Kevin Bacon and is due out later this year.
Apparently, Watts had a helluva pitch. But again, it makes for a striking contrast to Sam Raimi who had a long career of both cult classic B-horror movies in the 1980s and then well-received critical thrillers and dramas in the 1990s before directing the Spider-Man movie. Compartively, Marc Webb only helmed one feature before The Amazing Spider-Man; but even that was an indie darling in 500 Days of Summer. Watts is even more of an unknown variable than Webb. However, if the success of Marvel betting on the likes of the Russo Brothers--or Steven Spielberg betting on indie wunderkind Colin Trevorrow to make a Jurassic Park sequel--is any indication, there is likely a persuasive studio logic to this pick.
One thing is for sure, we will all know Tom Holland's name for now on since he begins his web-slinging career in Captain America: Civil War on May 6, 2016 and then again in Sony and Marvel's jointly untitled Spider-Man feature, which is set for July 28, 2017.