Josh Hutcherson: A 'Spider-Man' Contender?

So, Logan Lerman was “Spider-Man” in Marc Webb’s upcoming high school reboot of the character, according to HitFix. Except that he wasn’t, according to Deadline. Both sides seem sure of their sources, so only time will show who was right about this one, but in the meantime, another plausible candidate has appeared from IESB.

The site reports that former child star Josh Hutcherson, who appeared in the likes of “Zathura” and “Journey to the Centre of the Earth,” is on the short-list for the role. The 17-year-old actor picked up strong reviews for the hotly-tipped Sundance hit “The Kids Are All Right,” and also appears in an action role in “Red Dawn” later in the year. He’s the right age, and he’s already got more experience working with visual effects than most actors three times his age. He looks a little solid and jock-like for Peter Parker to our eyes, but there are worse choices out there.

IESB were the first to link Joss Whedon‘s name to “The Avengers;” props to them, and we give their report more weight as a result. Having said that, they don’t rule out the possibility that Lerman’s still in the running, and admit that Hutcherson isn’t locked for the role, merely on a short-list, so don’t start taking the heads off your “Bridge to Terabitha” action figures and putting them on Spidey just yet.

Remember the days when the world didn’t know every iota of casting and then outlets like us — and all the others — would just report the final person in the role? Yeah, those days are gone sadly…