After a secretive all-day screen-testing process Saturday,
Marvel is on the verge from choosing the actor who will don the red and blue
suit of Spider-Man.
According to sources, six teenage boys tested for the highly
sought-after role in Captain America: Civil War and follow-up films, one of the
biggest “gets” for a young actor in the film business.
Tom Holland, who appeared as one of Naomi Watts’ sons in the
acclaimed tsunami drama The Impossible, and
Asa Butterfield, the child star from Hugo and Ender’s Game, were the
best known of the contenders. The other four hopefuls included: Judah Lewis (a
relative newbie who will be seen in the Jean Marc-Vallee’s fall dramaDemolition), Matthew
Lintz (who will be seen with Adam Sandler in this summer’s Pixels),
Charlie Plummer (who had a recurring gig on Boardwalk
Empire), and Charlie Rowe (a British actor who appeared on Fox’s
short-lived Red Band Society).
(Reports that Butterfield
having been offered the role were as Marvel is only now in the midst of their
decision.)
The tests cap off a worldwide search in which the producers
looked at over 1,500 boys from around the world, narrowing them down to the
final six only in the last two weeks or so.
The actors were flown to Atlanta for the tests; that is where
Marvel is currently in production on Civil War, the movie
in which the character will be introduced before going on to headline his own
hopeful trilogy that will be made by Sony Pictures.
Present for the tests were Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige,
former head and now a Spider-Man producer Amy Pascal, and Joe and
Anthony Russo, the brothers who are directing Civil War.
Marvel and Sony must make a decision very soon due to time
constraints, and one factor that could influence the decision is age. In the
new movies, Peter Parker, Spider-Man’s alter ego, will be a high school student
for the new trilogy, and it’s important an actor convey the character’s
teen hood. Butter field and Holland are both 18, Rowe is 19, while the others
could be as low as 14.
A decision is expected to be made early in the week. One source,
however, cautioned there is a slim chance that Marvel won’t like any of their
choices and could keep looking.
Reps for Marvel and Sony were unavailable for comment.
Keep your Spider-sense attuned, True Believers…!
No comments:
Post a Comment