The news that everyone wanted finally came true now that Spider-Man has officially joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sure, I’m still nervous that Sony has “full creative control”, but I’m hoping that that made the press release as a way for Sony to save face and that it’s not actually true. Hopefully, Marvel will put their stamp on the superhero and Sony will just write and cash checks. Either way, the big issue now is that Marvel needs an actor to play Spider-Man. I’m going to assume that we’re not going to have another origins story. The Spider-Man in the Civil War was a somewhat seasoned Spidey and not a young, dumb kid trying to deal with his powers. That means no high school age kids. So with that in mind, here are the top ten actors that we think could play Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
10. Josh Hutcherson – I’m not Josh Hutcherson’s biggest fan, but he has the “look” of Peter Parker. He’s the right age and he can slump down into whiney teenager mode pretty quick. He’s also a pretty decent actor and has experience on big budget films. The problem with Hutcherson is THE HUNGER GAMES, which is his defining role and might be the reason he’s not the best fit.
9. Elyes Gabel – The star of TV’s ‘Scorpion’ doesn’t fit your typical Spider-Man mold, but I like the idea of going in a different direction with the character. Gabel is a decent actor and has shown a wide range in movies like WELCOME TO THE PUNCH and WORLD WAR Z. He can go from strong to whiney pretty quickly and could do well as a different Peter Parker. He is the oldest actor on this list, so that could be a minus in the eyes of Marvel.
8. Ellar Coltrane – We watched him grow 12 years in three hours in Richard Linklater’s BOYHOOD, but one thing I gleamed from the movie is that Ellar Coltrane is a fine actor. Now, asking him to jump in and carry a superhero franchise is going to be a tall task, but I like the idea of Ellar Coltrane as Spider-Man, even if it will take some work on his part and the part of the studio to get him ready. And he won’t be coddled in the MCU; he’ll have to carry his lines and command the screen.