After much Interweb speculation, Marvel and Sony Pictures have officially announced that the new Peter Parker/Spider-Man is the young actor TOM HOLLAND. He will be directed in the next Spider-Man film in 2017 by JON WATTS, who recently made a splash at Sundance with Cop Car.
The press release goes on to say that it was the result of an extensive search from Marvel’s Kevin Feige and Sony’s Amy Pascal, that they spotted Holland from his roles in The Impossible, TV mini-series Wolf Hall and the upcoming Ron Howard film, In the Heart of the Sea. Born in 1996, the actor has a background in stage and dance, performing in the 2008 West End version of Billy Elliot, initially as the best-friend character of Michael before taking the titular role in September 2008.
Sony Pictures Group Chairman remarked, “For Spidey himself, we saw many terrific young actors, but Tom’s screen tests were special. All in all, we are off to a roaring start.”
Watts got attention at Sundance earlier this year with Cop Car, starring Kevin Bacon, which was nominated for the audience award at the Edinburgh Film Festival. Kevin Feige commented “As with James Gunn, Joss Whedon, and the Russo brothers, we love finding new and exciting voices to bring these characters to life. We spent a lot of time with Jon and find his take and work inspiring.”
Meanwhile, Holland has been posting some acrobatic moves on his Instagram feed over the last few days, perhaps hinting or proving that he has what it takes to be Peter Parkour, the flippable Spider-Man.
The new Spider-Man film is set for release on 28 July 2017 from Sony. Rumours abound that he will make a cameo in Captain America: Civil War next year.
