Sony & Marvel’s ‘Spider-Man’ Reboot Has Found Its Star And Director!

Briefly: Back in April (yep, on the first), we fooled a few of you by announcing that The Walking Dead‘s Chandler Riggs had been cast as Peter Parker in Sony / Marvel’s Spider-Man reboot.

Obviously, we were lying, so you can stop tweeting us about it now. Today, however, Sony and Marvel revealed (for real) who will be our next wall-crawler, as well as who will be directing the feature.

19 year-old The Impossible and In The Heart of the Sea star Tom Holland (not as young as we were expecting) has been tapped as our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, while fairly-newcomer Jon Watts (Watts directed this year’s Sundance hit Cop Car) will direct the feature.

Of the announcement, Sony Pictures Chairman Tom Rothmans noted that “It’s a big day here at Sony. Kevin, Amy and their teams have done an incredible job. The Marvel process is very thorough, and that’s why their results are so outstanding. I’m confident Spider-Man will be no exception. I’ve worked with a number of up-and-coming directors who have gone on to be superstars and believe that Jon is just such an outstanding talent. For Spidey himself, we saw many terrific young actors, but Tom’s screen tests were special. All in all, we are off to a roaring start.”

Feige adds that “As with James Gunn, Joss Whedon, and the Russo brothers, we love finding new and exciting voices to bring these characters to life. We spent a lot of time with Jon and find his take and work inspiring.”

Last I’d heard, 18-year old Asa Butterfield was essentially a lock for the project. This is an interesting turn, and in any case, I’m excited to see just where Sony can take Spider-Man with Marvel’s help! What do you think of the announcement? Is there anyone else you’d rather see in the role? Sound out below!

The yet-untitled Spider-Man reboot hits theatres on July 28th, 2017.