Tom Holland: who is the new Spider-Man reboot movie star?

British actor Tom Holland will play Spider-Man in a new movie based on the comic superhero. The news that the young actor will take on the role has prompted mixed reactions from fans and commentators, with some welcoming the news, and others calling the whole Spider-Man format stale.

Marvel and Sony confirmed that Holland will take over from the current Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield, for a new film due to be released in 2017, reports the BBC. The news comes after speculation that producers might have chosen a black Spider-Man.

Who is Tom Holland?

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Tom Holland, from Surrey, has youth on his side. Marvel has expressed a desire to take Spidey back to his high-school roots recasting him as the teenager Peter Parker, says USA Today.

At 19, Holland is more than five years younger than the two previous Spider-Man actors Toby Maguire and Garfield were when they were cast in the part, and both of those actors portrayed Peter in high school.

Holland has proven he is an accomplished actor, singer and dancer. He appeared in the television adaptation of Wolf Hall and the stage musical Billy Elliot as well as several film roles. Variety says that Holland, who appeared in the Boxing Day tsunami drama The Impossible, not only held his own alongside Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts "but became the film's breakout star".

Holland may also do his own stunts on the forthcoming picture. When he was one of a number of contenders for the Spider-Man role, he posted a series of videos of acrobatic stunts on Instagram, including a backwards somersault from his back fence.

He's got what it takes, according to Ron Howard, who directed Holland in his up-coming film In The Heart Of The Sea. Holland has a "great work ethic" Howard told BBC Radio 5, and will bring "heart and humour" to the role.

What do the fans think?

Fans responded on social media with a mixture of delight, scepticism and sadness at Holland's new role, reports Digital Spy. Some tweeted that Holland was too young for the role. Others confused Holland with Tom Hollander, the actor who stars in The Rev, and thought he was too old.

Many of Holland’s fans were delighted for the Billy Elliot star, tweeting "Go Billy!" Others shed a tear for the previous Spider-Man, Garfield. One suggested it would be the perfect time for Garfield to change the Spider-Man themed décor of his bedroom.

What about black Spider-Man or gay Spider-Man?

There had been speculation that the new incarnation of Spider-Man might be black after it was announced that a black Spider-Man character would be introduced to the Marvel Universe this year. The character, Miles Morales, is the teenage son of an African-American dad and a Puerto Rican mum with arachnid superpowers. He was first introduced in 2011, but has only been featured in the Ultimate Universe comics up until now. The current comic book series Secret Wars will see the Marvel Universe colliding with the Ultimate Universe and Miles entertaining the same world as the white Spider-Man Peter Parker.

Recently leaked Sony documents suggested, however, that neither Marvel nor Sony were keen on changing Spider-Man too dramatically in any upcoming films, reports Newsarama. The documents revealed that a licensing agreement between Marvel Comics and Sony Pictures for the Spider-Man movies mandates that Spidey should be male, not smoke tobacco nor abuse alcohol, and not be a homosexual "(unless Marvel has portrayed that alter ego as a homosexual)". The documents also show that Peter Parker, though not necessarily any alternative Spider-Man character, is Caucasian.

Stan Lee, the co-creator of Spider-Man agrees with the decision. He told Newsarama that he thinks new superheroes should be created, rather than changing the race and sexual orientation of characters that already exist. "I wouldn't mind, if Peter Parker had originally been black, a Latino, an Indian or anything else, that he stay that way," said Lee. "But we originally made him white. I don't see any reason to change that."

On the subject of Spider-Man's sexuality, he said: "I think the world has a place for gay superheroes, certainly, but again, I don't see any reason to change the sexual proclivities of a character once they've already been established."

But some commentators aren't happy. Sam Biddle on Gawker accuses the Spider-Man movies of being stale because the licensing agreement stipulating what this fictional character can be is so strict – white, straight, no drugs, and no sex before 16. Biddle says the rules make Spider-Man "a f***ing dork". And as for his alter ego, Peter Parker, he's "a total dweeb too".