Spider-Man: Marvel and Sony At Odds Over Casting?

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SPIDER-MAN: Marvel and Sony at Odds Over Casting?

By Adam Chitwood

Published Jun 12, 2015

Asa Butterfield is reportedly out of the running, as Marvel and Sony are at a standstill.

Another week, more Spider-Man drama. The most recent word we heard on the casting front was that the finalists to play the new Spider-Man had assembled in Atlanta, where Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Civil War is currently in production, for screen tests, and a decision was expected soon. That clearly didn’t happen, so what’s the hold up? Well Marvel and Sony, who are sharing the character between the Marvel Cinematic Universe and standalone Sony movies co-produced by Marvel’s Kevin Feige, appear to be at odds.

On the podcast Meet the Movie Press, The Wrap reporter Jeff Sneider revealed that sources tell him there are only three contenders left in the running: Tom Holland, Charlie Plummer, and Matthew Lintz. Conspicuously left off this list is Ender’s Game star Asa Butterfield, whom many reports had pegged as the frontrunner for the role.

spider-man-tom-holland — Image via XYZ Films

Sneider added that casting is at a standstill, as Marvel is high on Boardwalk Empire actor Plummer, while Sony is keen on The Impossible and Wolf Hall star Holland. Apparently the two studios can't come to an agreement.

The plan was to have the role sewn up in order to shoot Spider-Man’s Captain America: Civil War scenes this month, but it appears that may not be the case—the characters scenes might be moved on the shooting schedule to July. It was a minor miracle that Marvel and Sony came to a deal over sharing the character of Spider-Man in the first place, so some contention over the casting process isn’t entirely unexpected. Where does this leave us? Well I expect we’ll hear a final decision…sometime. Stay tuned, folks.

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