‘The Walking Dead’s Chandler Riggs Cast As Our New Spider-Man

Breaking: Last month, Marvel and Sony announced a groundbreaking new partnership that would (again) see a reboot of the Spider-Man film franchise, but more importantly, would officially allow the character to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

It was quickly revealed that Andrew Garfield would not be reprising his Peter Parker role in the new series, and the internet has run rampant with speculation of who we’d next see don the blue and red suit ever since.

We can all stop that speculation now, as Sony has just revealed who they’ve chosen for the role. No, it’s not Donald Glover, and he won’t be playing Miles Morales. The Walking Dead star Chandler Riggs (Carl, duh) will play Peter Parker / Spider-Man beginning in Captain America: Civil War.

It’s certainly an interesting choice, and certainly not one I’d ever predict. He’s young (16), which I like, and he’s awkward as hell, so he’s already got a one-up on Andrew Garfield (at least as far as Peter Parker goes). I’ll admit that I was initially baffled at the decision, but then I remembered that we shouldn’t hate on this stuff until we actually see what it looks like. Peter Parker is an awkward teenage nerd who isn’t particularly good looking, and Chandler fits right into that description.

Here’s the press release:

After a comprehensive worldwide casting search, Chandler Riggs has been chosen to portray Peter Parker when Spider-Man swings into the Marvel Universe with the release of Captain America: Civil War on May 6th, 2016. Sony Pictures will thereafter release the next installment of its $4 billion Spider-Man franchise, on July 28, 2017, in a film that will be co-produced by Kevin Feige and his expert team at Marvel and newly appointed chairman of Sony Pictures, Tom Rothman.

 

Today’s announcement culminates what has been one of the most eagerly anticipated casting announcements in recent memory. Bloggers, pop culture speculators, and everyday fans have pored over and analyzed every conceivable online rumor in an attempt to discover the identity of the actor to play Marvel’s Spider-Man, and Riggs will immediately begin preparing for the coveted role.

 

Spider-Man, embraced all over the world, is the most successful franchise in the history of Sony Pictures, with the five films having taken in more than $4 billion worldwide.

 

Commenting on the announcement, Tom Rothman, chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios said, “Spider-Man is a classic superhero — a young man who balances his responsibility to serve humanity and crush evil with the shyness and normalcy of someone struggling to find himself. The role demands an extraordinary actor. You need someone who can magically transform himself from Peter Parker into Spider-Man. An actor who will depict the vulnerability of youth and the strength and confidence of a legendary figure at the same moment. We have found that actor in Chandler Riggs. From the first time we saw him in The Walking Dead, to his glorious screen test which floored all of us, we knew that we had found our new Peter Parker.”

 

Producer Avi Arad added, “I’m incredibly excited about Chandler Riggs. In the Spider-Man tradition, we were looking for a smart, sensitive, and cool new Peter Parker who can inspire us and make us laugh, cry, and cheer. We believe we have found the perfect choice to take on this role and lead us into the future.”

 

Producer Laura Ziskin said, “We are thrilled to have Chandler Riggs for this new incarnation of Spider-Man. We were fortunate enough to meet with a group of fantastically talented young men, and in the end, we all agreed that in addition to being an extraordinary actor, Chandler had the right mix of humor, youth, and pathos, along with an underlying sense of strength and power necessary to bring Peter Parker and Spider-Man to life on screen.”

 

Kevin Feige added “We cannot wait to show you where Marvel and Sony plan to take this beloved character, and we’re ecstatic to show you Chandler in costume, and in motion, later this year.”

Are you down with this announcement? Is there another actor you’d have rather seen cast? And what does this mean for Carl on The Walking Dead? Sound out below!