While nothing is official at this point, The Wrap has a list of five young actors who are reportedly in the running for the role of nerdy superhero Peter Parker, a high-school student who learns that great power comes with great responsibility when he’s bitten by a radioactive spider. Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures are reportedly sending the character back to high school (again) for the latest reboot of the Spider-Man franchise, which will bring the popular webslinger into Marvel’s movie-verse.
Probably the most well-known actor in the list of rumored contenders is 18-year-old Asa Butterfield (pictured), who played the lead roles in both the Oscar-nominated 2011 film Hugo and the 2013 sci-fi blockbuster Ender’s Game. Butterfield’s resume is already packed with impressive roles, having worked under Martin Scorsese’s guidance on Hugo and currently working with Tim Burton on the upcoming Peregrine’s Home for Peculiars.
The list of other rumored contenders features several actors who have had notable television roles in addition to the big screen, including Homeland actor Timothee Chalamet, who played the son of Matthew McConaughey’s character in Interstellar and Psych, and The Killing actor Liam James, who starred in the recent indie comedy The Way Way Back.
Also named on the list is 20-year-old The Fault in Our Stars actor Nat Wolff, who’s the oldest of the group, as well as Tom Holland, one of the stars of the The Impossible, the recent drama about the 2004 tsunami that devastated Thailand and neighboring islands.
The outlet reports that no offers have been made to the actors at this point, but with the character expected to make his debut in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, casting will likely need to happen before June of this year. After he’s introduced in that film, the new Spider-Man will get his own solo film — still untitled — set to hit theaters July 28, 2017.
