Peter Parker will always be my Spider-Man. He’s the version I grew up with, and I was lucky enough to get multiple versions of his story across comics, cartoons, and a total of five big budget blockbuster films. Debating the quality of those stories is what the comments section is there for, but I think we can all agree that Peter Parker’s story has been given its fair shake. It’s time for someone else to take the spotlight, and for a whole new generation of Spidey fans to discover their version of the character.
If TheWrap’s Jeff Sneider is to be believed, that version of the character will not be the color of an Oreo cookie’s cream filling.
Here’s Sneider’s quote from his appearance on the Meet the Movie press podcast:
“Listen, this is not set in stone guys, but I’m telling you right now, Spider-Man’s not going to be white. Spider-Man’s not going to be white. I’m 95% sure. Spider-Man’s going to be most likely black. But there’s a chance he could also be Latino. 95% sure, not white.”
According to Sneider, the Sony leak that happened last year plays a big part in this decision, since some of those emails were perceived to have a racist slant. Ouch. Well, if that’s what it takes for progress to get moving…
This would lead most people to believe that the new Spider-Man would be Miles Morales, a fan favorite character who took over for Peter Parker in the Ultimate universe (hooray for confusing comic book continuity!). It is important to note that Sneider doesn’t say that the character himself will change, only his skin color. Could this mean that Peter Parker will still be Spider-Man?
I don’t see any reason why Peter Parker (or any version of Spider-Man) has to be white. One of the greatest things about Spider-Man is that his costume design allows anyone to imagine themselves as Spidey underneath, regardless of their skin color. This would also be a big political win for Marvel over DC, since it would give Marvel the first major on-screen superhero that isn’t white.
This is all rumor at this point, but it’s a rumor that has continually popped up ever since Sony and Marvel came to an agreement about Spidey, so I have to believe it’s being seriously discussed. Does this mean we’re going to get a resurgence of “Donald Glover for Spidey” petitions? Is it too late for John Boyega to jump ship from Star Wars and web-sling on over to Marvel? Is anyone actually upset that we won’t be getting The Amazing Spider-Man 3? WHAT ABOUT THE AUNT MAY MOVIE?!?!?