Speculation continues to swirl around the role of Spider-Man, now that the character is confirmed as being scheduled to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. No actor has yet been cast in the role, but there are certainly already a few fan favorites emerging. One of which is Freddie Highmore.
While promoting season three of Bates Motel, the actor spoke to IGN about fans touting his name as the next potential web-slinger.
“Obviously, I would love to be considered. That would be fantastic. I guess we’ll just have to see how things go.
“You always feel like you can identify with him. He’s that kind of guy at school who wasn’t perhaps in the really cool group, but who was extremely intelligent and managed to find confidence in being Spider-Man – in this other side to his life.”
Addressing the possibility of participating in such a weighty film franchise, Highmore drew comparisons between the legacy of Spider-Man and that of Norman Bates – both of whom are iconic characters in their respective genres.
“I guess that’s something you would have to think about. At the same time, it would be such a fantastic role… As with Norman Bates, some people would always say, ‘Oh, is it tricky playing Norman, knowing he has this history behind him, and with Anthony Perkins’ classic performance that you will always be compared to?’ I guess similarly with the actor who ends up playing Spider-Man, there will always be comparisons made with Tobey Maguire’s great performance, and most recently, Andrew Garfield.”
At the current time, it is unclear which iteration of the character of Spider-Man will appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There is some question around whether it will actually be Miles Morales, as opposed to Peter Parker. Morales as Spider-Man first appeared in the comic books in 2011, and was partly inspired by a scene from Community featuring Donald Glover. As a result, there is a vocal lobby for Glover to be cast in the role.
Whether it will ultimately be Glover as Morales, or Highmore as Parker, it cannot be denied that the introduction of Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be exciting filmmaking indeed.
