Last week, Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios announced that Tom Holland will be playing the role of Peter Parker for the forthcoming "Spider-Man" reboot. While fans were interested to learn more about the young actor, Marvel executive Kevin Feige revealed the process of casting Tom Holland and why they chose the star.
During the press day for "Ant Man," Collider caught up with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige to talk about the "Spider-Man" reboot and the latest casting news. It was previously reported that the testing process for the actors involved having to read opposite "Iron Man" Robert Downey Jr. in Atlanta, where Marvel is filming "Captain America: Civil War." The young actor Tom Holland reportedly had screen tests not only with "Iron Man" but with "Captain America" Chris Evans too. The Marvel superhero "Spider-Man" is expected to make an appearance in the latest "Captain America: film.
Marvel's Feige discussed how the team tried to keep the readings a secret, even using a specially written script for the screen test, which also had a mix of the movie's real dialogues. "It was a combination," said Fiege, "It was mainly written for the screen test though. Which is what we usually do... So they're usually just bespoke for a test with different names and things. So they call each other different names."
When asked about the chemistry between Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland, and if it was a major factor in casting the actor, Fiege on said: "That was part of it. When we'll see that, I don't know, but that was part of it."
Meanwhile, "Spider-Man" creator Stan Lee also approved the casting of the new Peter Parker. "He's good to me! I can't see anything wrong with him," Lee told ETonline during last week's "Ant-Man" premiere. Although the comic book legend admitted to not seeing Tom Holland's previous works, Lee is looking forward to what the actor can bring to the Marvel hero's series. "I don't know him intimately. In fact, I've never seen him [onscreen], but if [Marvel] picked him, I'm sure he's good!" Lee said.
The new "Spider-Man" movie is expected to hit theaters on July 28, 2017.
