Last week, a set of candidates emerged to play the new “Spider-Man” and they all shared a common trait – young, as to be expected, but totally white. Granted, this sort of casting is normal in Hollywood blockbusters, but naturally, this rankled a few growing tired of the Logan Lermans and Jamie Bells of the world. And so, “Community” star Donald Glover has thrown himself into the casting pool, via Twitter, for “Spider-Man.”
“Some people are mistaken,” says the comedian, who apparently is taking this seriously. “I don’t want to just be given the role. I want to be able to audition. I truly love Spider-Man.” And what’s wrong with that? Glover’s a multi-talented comedian, actor and musician, at the appropriate age, and has a striking physicality that would be appropriate for an action picture. Is “Spider-Man” that vehicle?
Probably not, as we don’t see Sony rocking the boat enough to radically change the race of the character. When it comes to franchise reboots, studios remain hesitant about completely cutting their ties from the originals, as there’s always a select few who regard the films as straight sequels, though we’d be more than happy to accept a black Spider-Man – Peter Parker is a kid from a lower-middle-class Queens family, and that’s not an identity that’s specifically white. Plus, god forbid, for the first time, Spidey would actually be funny! Join the Facebook support group here.