Skip to main content

An Ender’s Game star and an Interstellar actor are among the rumored Spider-Man contenders

spider man actor marvel sony ender s game asa butterfield
Image used with permission by copyright holder
It seems like just a short time ago we were talking about Andrew Garfield landing the title role in The Amazing Spider-Man, but now we have yet another group of rumored contenders for the new big-screen Spider-Man that will debut in Marvel’s cinematic universe.

While nothing is official at this point, The Wrap has a list of five young actors who are reportedly in the running for the role of nerdy superhero Peter Parker, a high-school student who learns that great power comes with great responsibility when he’s bitten by a radioactive spider. Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures are reportedly sending the character back to high school (again) for the latest reboot of the Spider-Man franchise, which will bring the popular webslinger into Marvel’s movie-verse.

Probably the most well-known actor in the list of rumored contenders is 18-year-old Asa Butterfield (pictured), who played the lead roles in both the Oscar-nominated 2011 film Hugo and the 2013 sci-fi blockbuster Ender’s Game. Butterfield’s resume is already packed with impressive roles, having worked under Martin Scorsese’s guidance on Hugo and currently working with Tim Burton on the upcoming Peregrine’s Home for Peculiars.

The list of other rumored contenders features several actors who have had notable television roles in addition to the big screen, including Homeland actor Timothee Chalamet, who played the son of Matthew McConaughey’s character in Interstellar and Psych, and The Killing actor Liam James, who starred in the recent indie comedy The Way Way Back.

Also named on the list is 20-year-old The Fault in Our Stars actor Nat Wolff, who’s the oldest of the group, as well as Tom Holland, one of the stars of the The Impossible, the recent drama about the 2004 tsunami that devastated Thailand and neighboring islands.

The outlet reports that no offers have been made to the actors at this point, but with the character expected to make his debut in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, casting will likely need to happen before June of this year. After he’s introduced in that film, the new Spider-Man will get his own solo film — still untitled — set to hit theaters July 28, 2017.

Editors' Recommendations

Rick Marshall
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
The 10 most popular movies on Netflix right now
A woman points a gun and stares.

Netflix is one of the most popular streaming services in the world, with nearly 250 million subscribers. And just what do those people tend to watch? In particular, what is the most popular movie on Netflix? Each week, the streaming service releases a list of its 10 most-watched movies over a recent seven-day period to keep subscribers in the loop regarding its most popular titles.

Zack Snyder is back in the top 10 with Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver, the second film in his space opera series. Despite Snyder's popularity, the new Rebel Moon film could not unseat What Jennifer Did, which is the No. 1 movie for the second straight week. New additions to the top 10 include the comedy Knocked Up at No. 8 and the action movie Anna at No. 2. Below, we've listed the top 10 movies in the U.S. from April 15 to April 21, along with general information about each film, such as genre, rating, cast, and synopsis.

Read more
Deadpool & Wolverine: Everything we know about the film formerly known as Deadpool 3
Deadpool and Wolverine stand together in Deadpool & Wolverine.

In retrospect, we should have suspected that Deadpool & Wolverine wouldn't keep its most famous co-star out of the title. In 2022, Ryan Reynolds coaxed Hugh Jackman into reprising his role as Wolverine for the first time since 2017's Logan. Once that happened, the name Deadpool 3 didn't fully convey how monumental this film would be.

So Marvel Studios has officially retitled it as Deadpool & Wolverine. Jackman has also humorously rebranded the film as Wolverine & [expletive], which would make this R-rated flick a lot harder to market!

Read more
5 years ago, Game of Thrones aired its last great episode. Here’s why it still holds up
Jamie knights Brienne in episode 2 of Game of Thrones season 8.

Many fans would likely agree that Game of Thrones went out not with a bang, but a profound whimper. After dominating pop culture for nearly 10 years, the hit HBO series concluded with a trio of episodes that were universally reviled by both fans and critics alike. The show's lackluster, ham-fisted finale led to its popularity seemingly vanishing into thin air. In the five years since it aired, time hasn't been kind to Game of Thrones season 8.

To this day, many people still discuss the series' final season with a mix of bitterness and disbelief, and those fans won't find any disagreement about the quality of Game of Thrones' last few chapters here. As disappointing as its eighth season remains, though, April 21 marked the five-year anniversary of its noteworthy second episode, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. The fan-favorite installment ranks not only as its season's best chapter, but also as the last great episode that Game of Thrones ever produced.

Read more