Sony and Marvel have finally settled their differences regarding the rights to the Spider-Man movies. And that means scrapping any future films with Andrew Garfield as the web slinger. Instead, Sony and Marvel will joint produce a new Spidey film set for release on July 26, 2017.
The film will star Tom Holland (The Impossible) as an age-appropriate Peter Parker. Jon Watts, who directed the upcoming thriller Cop Car with Kevin Bacon, will helm the film. The deal also means that Holland will likely cameo as Spider-Man in the upcoming Captain America: Civil War.
Holland was one of several younger names thrown around during the casting phase. The relatively unknown actor, who impressed many critics with his performance on the PBS miniseries Wolf Hall, beat out names like Asa Butterfield (Hugo, Ender's Game) and Charlie Plummer (Boardwalk Empire). Watts is an even more obscure choice for director. His only previous feature is the horror film Clown, in which a man literally turns into a demonic clown. But he also has a lighter touch, directing all episodes of The Onion's forays into television: Onion SportsDome and The Onion News Network.
Personally, I don't know why they're doing any of this. Andrew Garfield was a great Peter Parker. While I'll admit The Amazing Spider-Man 2 had its share of problems, there's nothing there that he and director Marc Webb couldn't have fixed in a great trilogy-capper. Part of the problem is Marvel's strategy isn't for one successful movie or even three, but a never-ending interlocking franchise. Even if the reboot/re-casting was inevitable, why does the onscreen Spidey have to be Peter Parker? Miles Morales, the young black-Latino hero, has taken over the comics. Portraying him on the big screen would be a breath of fresh air, adding some much needed diversity to both Hollywood and Marvel Studios specifically.
But this is what we've got to live with. And since both Holland and Watts are unknown commodities, there's nothing but upside here.
