Fanboys Anonymous

Just as we were getting used to the idea of Asa Butterfield in the role, a press release issued through Marvel.com today revealed that our new Spider-Man will be played by 19-year-old actor Tom Holland (The Impossible). The as-yet untitled reboot will be co-produced by Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures, which has owned the film rights to the Spider-Man franchise since 1999.

The secret is out!

The announcement comes on the heels of a leaked licensing agreement between Sony and Marvel that caused a stir late last week. Many fans were dismayed upon learning that the terms of the agreement stipulate that our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man cannot be portrayed as gay, black, or really anything other than "Caucasian and heterosexual."

Marvel and Sony have also confirmed that the film will be directed by Jon Watts (Cop Car).

"It's a big day here at Sony," said Tom Rothman, Sony Pictures Motion Pictures Group chairman. He went on to say that Kevin Feige of Marvel Studios and Amy Pascal of Sony

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 echoed the sentiment by commenting, "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." Pascall added, "Sony, Marvel, Kevin and I all knew that for Peter Parker, we had to find a vibrant, talented young actor capable of embodying one of the most well-known characters in the world. With Tom, we've found the perfect actor to bring Spider-Man's story into the Marvel Cinematic Universe."

Welcome home, Spider-Man

A relatively new face, Holland is best known for his role in the 2012 tsunami drama The Impossible, where he gave a compelling performance alongside Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor. He will be seen next in Ron Howard's In The Heart Of The Sea opposite Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth. Based on what we already know about the new Spidey capers, Holland's casting makes a lot of sense. Marvel previously revealed they sought a Spider-Man young enough to go through three or four solo films chronicling Peter Parker's high school years, à la Daniel Radcliffe's young casting for the Harry Potter films. Feige is smart to focus on the rich stories of Peter Parker's early years, filled with his trademark humor and teenage angst. In doing so, Marvel is distancing the property from the previous incarnations of Spidey, which have mostly seen the hero as an adult, in his college years and beyond.

Holland is expected to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the first time in next year's Captain America: Civil War before starring in his first Spider-Man film set for release on July 28th, 2017. The actor uploaded a series of videos to Instagram yesterday showcasing his ability to do backflips—a skillthat'll surely come in handy when he steps into the red and blue tights.

More fun more fun

A video posted by ✌️ (@tomholland2013) on Jun 21, 2015 at 7:40am PDT