By Arianna Smith Section editor
Marvel Studios dropped a long anticipated bombshell to its faithful fans on Feb. 9 with the announcement that Spider-Man, alias Peter Parker, would finally be joining the Marvel cinematic universe as an integral character in both the major Secret and Civil Wars plotlines, with a possible pigment change.
For those without comic book know-how, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is one where all the heroes coexist together, such as in the Avengers. Spider-Man has been spotlighted in separate stand-alone movies produced either entirely or in part by Marvel, (i.e, the Avengers lead up movies- Captain America, The incredible Hulk, Iron Man) but never in a team up with other heroes. Rumors circulate that this new Spiderman MCU appearance may be in the next Captain America.
There have been reports that also say the new Spider-Man may even be African American. Daniel Glover, Tony Revolori and Tyler James Williams are all black actors and have expressed interest in the role.
“I think that, this being the 21st Century, fans need to stop flipping out at the idea of a previously white superhero becoming black,” said Mark Hughes, an official Marvel spokesperson in an interview with Forbes. “Whoever plays the role the best will get it, and color won’t matter.”
Both previous actors of Spider-Man have been white. There is a black Spider-Man in the comics by the name of Miles Morales-but in an alternate universe and nowhere near the big screen until now.
“In the 50’s and 60’s, whites were all we knew,” said Marvel cinematic director Avi Avrad. “But we’re becoming more of one world, and we’re going to see a lot more diversity.” (Forbes.com)
Marvel Studios has been doing a lot of character revamping lately in terms of gender and race. The new Thor is a woman, Electro was recently played by Jamie Foxx, the new Human Torch is going to be black and Nick Fury has long been played by Samuel L. Jackson even though he started off white in the comics.
“It’s not about saying, ‘Well, in the comic he was white, so he can’t be black.’ It’s all going to change.” said Arad. (Forbes.com)
