After months of back and forth, Marvel.com has formally announced the star and director for the new SPIDER-MAN: THE IMPOSSIBLE’s Tom Holland is your new Peter Parker while COP CAR director Jon Watts will direct the new film. Holland won the part after extensive and thorough screen tests that included other rumored actors like Asa Butterfield. Holland’s selection comes as CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR continues production. That film is expected to be the cinematic debut of Holland as the new Spider-man before launching into his own franchise after that.
Former Sony executive Amy Pascal issued this statement about the casting of Holland as Spider-man.
“Sony, Marvel, Kevin and I all knew that for Peter Parker, we had to find a vibrant, talented young actor capable of embodying one of the most well-known characters in the world. With Tom, we’ve found the perfect actor to bring Spider-Man’s story into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”
The selection of Jon Watts is surprisingly not surprising. Watts excited audiences at Sundance this year with the Kevin Bacon thriller COP CAR. Much like Marc Webb, Watts comes from an independent film background which should carry with it a focus on character development. Whether he can handle massive CGI spectacle remains to be seen. Our very own Chris Bumbray did give COP CAR a very good review, so that should bode well.
It is unknown who is scripting the new SPIDER-MAN movie, but I would anticipate we should be hearing a lot more about this project now that the principal pieces are in place. Now you can sound off below as to whether you think Marvel and Sony have made the right choice.
SPIDER-MAN is set to hit theaters on July 28, 2017. You can read the full press release below.
Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios are proud to announce that after a full worldwide casting search, Tom Holland will play Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the next Spider-Man film, in theaters in IMAX and 3D on July 28, 2017. The film will be directed by Jon Watts, director of “Cop Car,” the upcoming thriller that made its debut earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival.
Marvel and Sony Pictures, and producers Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal conducted an extensive search for both the actor and the director. The studios and producers were impressed by Holland’s performances in “The Impossible,” “Wolf Hall,” and the upcoming “In the Heart of the Sea,” and by a series of complex screen tests. Following Marvel’s tradition of working with the brightest next wave of directors, Watts also went through multiple meetings with Feige, Pascal, and the studio, before winning the job.
Commenting on the announcement, Tom Rothman, Sony Pictures Motion Pictures Group Chairman, said, “It’s a big day here at Sony. Kevin, Amy and their teams have done an incredible job. The Marvel process is very thorough, and that’s why their results are so outstanding. I’m confident Spider-Man will be no exception. I’ve worked with a number of up-and-coming directors who have gone on to be superstars and believe that Jon is just such an outstanding talent. 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.”
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.”
Pascal added, “Sony, Marvel, Kevin and I all knew that for Peter Parker, we had to find a vibrant, talented young actor capable of embodying one of the most well-known characters in the world. With Tom, we’ve found the perfect actor to bring Spider-Man’s story into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”
Sony Pictures will finance and release worldwide the next installment of the $4 billion Spider-Man franchise on July 28, 2017, in a film co-produced by Kevin Feige and his expert team at Marvel and Amy Pascal, who oversaw the franchise launch for the studio 13 years ago. Together, they will collaborate on a new creative direction for the Web-Slinger.
Spider-Man, embraced all over the world, is the most successful franchise in the history of Sony Pictures, with the five films having taken in more than $4 billion worldwide.
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