The Spider-Man casting process is a game of musical chairs at the moment. A chair gets removed, and every time the "music" stops, someone has to leave. Earlier, we reported that The Walking Dead co-star Chandler Riggs scratched his own name off of the list with a well-timed Tweet. And now an alleged frontrunner is supposedly out of the race.
On the Meet The Movie Press podcast, The Wrap reporter Jeff Sneider quotes his sources as saying that Hugo and Ender’s Game lead Asa Butterfield is out of the running for the lead role of Peter Parker, aka the amazing Spider-Man.
Sneider goes on to say that, from what he has heard, there are three actors still in the running. They are:
With Asa Butterfield out, does that make Tom Holland the frontrunner? I certainly hope so. The young actor blew me away in J.A. Bayona’s spectacular The Impossible, playing the heroic older son of Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor. We’re also hearing impressive reviews for Holland’s work on Ron Howard’s In The Heart of the Sea, due out in December. Holland is young enough, skilled enough, and experienced enough. To me, he seems like the no-brainer choice.
Charlie Plummer
Fans of HBO’s Boadrwalk Empire will recognize Charlie Plummer as Michael Thompson. He also had the recurring role of Timmy Sanders on the television series Granite Flats. He hasn’t had a lot of film experience, but during this process, it has seemed like Sony and Marvel want someone fresh and new, so that they can mold him into Spider-Man over the course of time. Plummer fits that bill.
Matthew Lintz
Like the others, he’s young, and has some experience with Sony. Lintz had bit parts in Piranha 3DD and What To Expect When You’re Expecting, but will also be in Adam Sandler’s Pixels this summer. So based on what he does in that movie, that might explain why Sony seems him as a possible successor to Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire.
Jeff Sneider explains on the Meet The Movie Press podcast that at the moment, Marvel backs Charlie Plummer, while Sony is putting its weight behind Tom Holland. And the reason that the casting decision hasn’t been announced is because the studios continue to be "at odds" over who is the best fit for the franchise. Sneider calls Marvel "the creative lead" on this Spider-Man reboot, seeing as how this is the studio’s first real try at bringing Spidey to the big screen. However, Sony is paying for the movie, and wants to keep its input, particularly in the casting department.
One sticking point that is discussed on the podcast is the precautions that are built into the schedule of a minor, meaning that if Charlie Plummer were to be cast, he could only work in stages, not being allowed by law to put in a full day. For that reason, and maybe others, Sneider puts his money down on Tom Holland… and damn, do I hope he’s right. If you’ve seen Holland’s work in The Impossible, he’s a heartfelt and earnest performer who, while not necessarily funny, looks like he can bring several layers to a portrayal of Peter Parker. I’m not sure if it’s destined to happen, but I really think that a decision is coming soon, and I’m praying that Holland’s name ends up at the top of the list when all is said and done.
