We’re closing in on an official Spider-Man casting announcement, as the young frontrunners have completed official screen-tests.
Marvel is bringing Spider-Man back into the fold, and the character is expected to make his debut in the upcoming Captain America: Civil War before headlining his own four-part movie series.
With Civil War already in production, the studio needs to act fast and pick their new Spidey — and after months of speculation, an official announcement is expected some time this week!
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The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that on Saturday, May 30, six hopeful young actors gathered in Atlanta to screen-test for the part. The studio has only recently narrowed down their shortlist, picking from more than 1,500 boys from around the world.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, Civil War directors Joe and Anthony Russo, and Spider-Man producer Amy Pascal were all present at the testing.
Asa Butterfield (18), previously rumored to have already been offered the part (we now know this a was false report), was among the six teen boys short-listed for the role, and present for the screen-test.
He was joined by Tom Holland (19), another young actor considered a prime candidate for the part, and four relatively unknown actors.
Related: Rumor: New Spider-Man movie title will be Spider-Man: The New Avenger
Interestingly, some of the other short-listed candidates have not yet been linked with the Spider-Man casting.
Present at the screen-test were Judah Lewis, Matthew Lintz, Charlie Plummer (Boardwalk Empire), and 19-year-old Charlie Rowe, a British actor who made his U.S. debut on the short-lived Red Band Society last year.
With many fans hoping that Marvel casts an unknown, it looks like there’s still hope!
The four Spider-Man movies are set to chronicle Peter Parker’s four years in high school, and unlike Sony’s previous two Spidey series, the first movie will pick up after he’s already gained his webslinger abilities.
With most of the actors testing already being in their late teens, it might seem like a bit of a stretch to cast them as a 14-year-old, but at least they all still look relatively young.
Unless Marvel decides to do more screen-tests, we’ll probably have our Spider-Man within the next couple of days!