Donald Glover In Talks to Join 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Cast Years After Fan Campaign
Years after a viral fan campaign aimed to make him the next webslinger, Donald Glover has reportedly been cast in the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming.
The Hollywood Reporter announced on Tuesday that the 32-year-old actor -- who also raps under the moniker Childish Gambino -- is in talks to join the upcoming Marvel superhero pic. Casting has picked up in recent months, after Tom Holland’s Peter Parker and Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May were introduced in Captain America: Civil War, though Glover’s potential part is being kept top secret.
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The Community star was the focus of a fan-driven campaign to make him the next webslinger when Sony rebooted the Marvel property for what became 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man. Though the part of Peter Parker ultimately went to Andrew Garfield, Glover had a chance to voice another Spidey, Miles Morales, on DisneyXD’s animated series, Ultimate Spider-Man.
Glover even joked about the fan campaign during his 2012 Comedy Central stand up special, Weirdo.
“I put it up on my Twitter, and I was like, ‘Oh, #DonaldForSpiderman, let’s do this.’” he told the crowd. “Kind of as a joke, but also like, who doesn’t want to be Spider-Man? That’d be cool.”
“That’s when the world went crazy,” Glover continued. “And half the world was like ‘#DonaldForSpiderman! We’re only going to watch the next Spider-Man if Donald Glover is playing Peter Parker!’ And the other half was like, ‘He’s black, kill him!’”
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While the powers-that-be over at Marvel will do their best to keep Glover’s role a secret, fans are already speculating that the actor and rapper could potentially play an older Miles Morales, who passes the Spidey mantel on to Holland’s high school-aged Peter Parker. Here’s hoping!
Spider-Man: Homecoming, which will also star Michael Keaton as a villain and Zendaya as a female lead, is slated for a July 7, 2017 release.