Following the previously-reported frontrunners last month, The Hollywood Reporter has an update on which actors actually participated in screen tests in Atlanta today for the role of Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. According to the trade, both Asa Butterfield (Hugo, Ender’s Game) and Tom Holland (The Impossible) are still in the mix. The site adds:
The other four hopefuls included: Judah Lewis (a relative newbie who will be seen in the Jean Marc-Vallee’s fall drama Demolition), 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).
Present for the tests were Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige, producer Amy Pascal, and Joe and Anthony Russo, the duo that is directing Captain America: Civil War, the film which is expected to feature the first appearance of the new Spidey. After the May 6, 2016 release from Marvel Studios, Spider-Man will then get his own solo film from Sony Pictures, set for release on July 28, 2017.
“There is a young kid [already] running around New York City in a homemade version of the Spider-Man costume in the MCU,” Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige previously told CraveOnline. “You just don’t know it yet… In Spider-Man’s very specific case, where there have been two retellings of that origin in the last whatever it’s been – [thirteen] years – for us we are going to take it for granted that people know that, and the specifics.”
The Reporter says that the producers have looked at over 1,500 boys from around the world. The narrowed-down list of actors tested in Atlanta because that is where “Civil War” is currently filming. A decision on the actor is expected to be made early this week.