‘Spider-Man’ Seeks Younger Actor to Replace Andrew Garfield, Plus More Info on Marvel and Sony’s Plan
It was the news we’d all be hoping and wishing and waiting for: last night, Marvel officially announced that they’ve reached an agreement with Sony for a Spider-Man crossover, which could also allow for MCU characters to crossover into Spidey’s own films. On top of that, Marvel is teaming up with Sony for a new ‘Spider-Man’ movie, to hit theaters in 2017. But who will play the web-slinger? As predicted, it won’t be Andrew Garfield. We’ve got a little more info on Marvel and Sony’s plans, which shed even more optimistic light on this very positive (and super exciting!) news.
THR was able to provide a little more info on Marvel and Sony’s plans for Spidey—chiefly, that Garfield will not return to the franchise (and neither will ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ director Marc Webb, but that was a given), and the studios are now seeking an actor much younger than the 31 year-old Garfield. The actor was definitely one of the few highlights of Webb’s films, and was a great fit for the character—the films just never matched up to what he delivered, unfortunately. So as exciting as the Marvel and Sony deal is, it’s kind of a bummer to see Garfield go; but on the plus side, we’ll get a brand new actor in the role, so feel free to begin speculating and fantasy casting.
THR also adds that ‘Spider-Man’ producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach, who’ve been the “gatekeepers” of the franchise, will now act as executive producers and will not be allowed to offer any creative input. This is spectacular news on top of what was already great news, as Arad has been keeping a very tight grip on the character, and is largely responsible for the decline in the quality of the franchise. There was absolutely no way Sony could move forward with this collaborative Marvel deal if Arad continued to have such firm control over the character, which would definitely cause issues with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige.
Additionally, Variety reports that Sony is still moving ahead with their ‘Spider-Man’ spinoffs, including ‘Sinister Six,’ ‘Venom,’ and the all-female Spidey character movie tentatively titled ‘Glass Ceiling.’ Marvel’s Kevin Feige will not be creatively involved with the spinoffs, however, as it appears that Sony is trying to maintain some semblance of independence when it comes to the character. It remains unclear with all the changes at Sony regarding the property whether Alex Kurtzman is still directing ‘Venom,’ or if Drew Goddard will still be involved with ‘Sinister Six.’
It’s all still very fresh information, but we’ll likely see Spider-Man make his first MCU appearance in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ on May 6, 2016, which means it won’t be much longer before even more details emerge and we learn which actor will replace Garfield in the red and blue tights.
The new ‘Spider-Man’ film will hit theaters on July 28, 2017.
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