Meet the teen who’s (probably) going to be the next Spider-Man
Have your Spidey senses been extra tingly today? You’re really on it then, as a new actor—a teen one, natch!—has officially been cast as Spider-Man!
According to Latino-Review, Asa Butterfield will likely rock that signature red and blue bodysuit as your fave friendly neighborhood superhero in a series of Marvel/Sony movies. Sources claim negotiations are happening and all that’s left is Asa’s peeps saying yes. And you all know, they’d be pretty much crazy not to want him to swing into this role, especially considering that Marvel has big plans for Spidey going forward, including a cameo for him in the new Captain America sequel.
But for now, let’s focus on Asa himself. Although there were a number of other young dudes in Marvel’s web of potential Peter Parkers (the Internet was really wanting Teen Wolf‘s Dylan O’Brien for a bit), this 18-year-old Brit (between him and Andrew Garfield, clearly Marvel sees Peter as originally, secretly based in the U.K.) was apparently the one who stuck.
While Asa’s not necessarily a household name right now, he’s got some pretty impressive, big budget flicks under his belt already including the aforementioned Ender’s Game, Oscar fave Hugo (he was Hugo!) and a sequel to Nanny McPhee with the brilliant Emma Thompson (a.k.a. our real life Mrs. Potts). He’s even experienced with being merchandised already, as seen in this photo of him with the Funko figurine they made of Ender Wiggin.
This might not be enough for some people to be convinced he’ll be able to “do whatever a spider can.” But just think—if he does officially land the role, he’ll be the first legitimately age-appropriate live-action Peter Parker to hit the big screen (Andrew Garfield was nearly 30 when he signed on for Amazing Spider-Man, while Tobey Maguire became our orig Spidey when he was 26). And judging by some of his headshots, dude looks pretty at home in glasses, which is a must for young, pre-bite Peter.
Now we’ll just have to hang upside down in the wings (alleyways?) to find out whether he’s a lock. We’re also wondering which teen actress will get cast as Mary Jane (how good would Hailee Steinfeld, who was also in Ender’s Game and is now in Pitch Perfect 2, be?). And while we’re on the subject, when are they going to consider making a Spider-Gwen movie? Just asking.
