Magnolia Pictures
Never mind that we previously told you Asa Butterfield was the new Spider-Man. This is really official: Marvel has announced 19-year-old English actor Tom Holland (The Impossible) is the next to play the web-slinging superhero and his alter ego, Peter Parker. He won the coveted gig through multiple screen tests, beating out Butterfield and two sets worth of other contenders, some of them much younger. Holland can pass okay for a few years younger, at least, as he’ll be expected to for the high school-aged focus of this new incarnation.
Additionally, relative newbie director Jon Watts (Cop Car; Clown) will direct Sony’s first installment of the latest reboot of the franchise, due in summer 2017. Holland is set to first make his first appearance as the character in next year’s Captain America: Civil War, although that isn’t made official by Marvel today.
See Holland getting ready for his new role, via his Instagram:
A video posted by ?? (@tomholland2013) on Jun 21, 2015 at 7:40am PDT
A video posted by ?? (@tomholland2013) on Jun 21, 2015 at 7:44am PDT
Here is Marvel’s whole press release on today’s announcements:
Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios are proud to announce that after a full worldwide casting search, Tom Holland will play Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the next Spider-Man film, in theaters in IMAX and 3D on July 28, 2017. The film will be directed by Jon Watts, director of “Cop Car,” the upcoming thriller that made its debut earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival.
Marvel and Sony Pictures, and producers Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal conducted an extensive search for both the actor and the director. The studios and producers were impressed by Holland’s performances in “The Impossible,” “Wolf Hall,” and the upcoming “In the Heart of the Sea,” and by a series of complex screen tests. Following Marvel’s tradition of working with the brightest next wave of directors, Watts also went through multiple meetings with Feige, Pascal, and the studio, before winning the job.
Commenting on the announcement, Tom Rothman, Sony Pictures Motion Pictures Group Chairman, said, “It’s a big day here at Sony. Kevin, Amy and their teams have done an incredible job. 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.”
Feige commented, “As with James Gunn, Joss Whedon, and the Russo brothers, we love finding new and exciting voices to bring these characters to life. We spent a lot of time with Jon and find his take and work inspiring.”
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.”
Sony Pictures will finance and release worldwide the next installment of the $4 billion Spider-Man franchise on July 28, 2017, in a film co-produced by Kevin Feige and his expert team at Marvel and Amy Pascal, who oversaw the franchise launch for the studio 13 years ago. Together, they will collaborate on a new creative direction for the Web-Slinger.
Spider-Man, embraced all over the world, is the most successful franchise in the history of Sony Pictures, with the five films having taken in more than $4 billion worldwide.
Related Topics: Marvel, Spider-Man
