With the recent inclusion of Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) through a deal made by Marvel and Sony, as well as the news that Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) won’t be returning as the web slinger, the internet has gone into the predictable habit of speculation and suggestion, throwing out names from Donald Glover (TV’s Community) to Logan Lerman (Fury) to Dylan O’Brien (The Maze Runner). But one current rumor hints that Andrew Garfield isn’t the only victim of the Marvel/Sony deal. Indeed, Peter Parker’s days may be numbered as well, as Sony might be going in the direction of a non-white Spider-Man.
Acknowledging that his word is far from concrete, TheWrap’s Jeff Sneider appeared on the Meet the Movie Press podcast where he had this to say regarding the new Spider-Man:
Listen, this is not set in stone guys, but I’m telling you right now, Spider-Man’s not going to be white. Spider-Man’s not going to be white. I’m 95% sure. Spider-Man’s going to be most likely black. But there’s a chance he could also be Latino. 95% sure, not white.
This could mean that Peter Parker would give up the spidey suit to Miles Morales – the current Black Hispanic Spider-Man in the Ultimate Spider-Man series – but it could also mean Sony will go in a new direction with a entirely different Spider-Man character altogether. Of course, while this is still nothing more than a circulating rumor, Sneider did follow up the claim with something he believes to be the prevailing reason behind the decision.
I really feel strongly. Sony has an opportunity to beat Marvel and DC to the punch with a major black comic book character. Like I mentioned last week, the emails that leaked were perceived as racist in some quarters. I really think that’s going to play into things.
Whether this rumor does come to fruition remains to be seen, but there should be more information in the upcoming months, as the expectation is that we’ll see Spider-Man’s first appearance next year in Captain America: Civil War. That film is slated for a May 5th, 2016 release date.
The podcast where Sneider makes his comments can be viewed in its entirety here, but you can fast forward to the 44:25 mark to hear the Spider-Man chatter specifically:
Leave a Comment