Where the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of Spider-Man is concerned, the key word in the conversation has been "young." Since Marvel Studios made a deal with Sony earlier this year, it has been consistently stressed that the new version of the superhero isn't going to be rushed into college, and will stay a kid for a little while. This approach was further confirmed when 19-year-old Tom Holland joined the cast, but what has remained a mystery is the exact age of the character. Well, wonder no longer, because it looks like the MCU version of the webslinger will be 15 years old.
It was while talking with Empire Magazine that director Jon Watts revealed this interesting bit of trivia about the new Spider-Man. The filmmaker, who is making the untitled solo movie set to come out in 2017, was discussing his approach to the character in relation to the other movie's we've seen when he revealed the protagonist's age. Said Watts,
There are only so many times that you can kill Uncle Ben. I love the idea of making a coming-of-age high-school movie. We’re really going to see Peter Parker in high school and get deeper into that side of it. He’s just 15 now.
At 15 years old, this means that Peter Parker is actually only just starting his years as a high school student - which means that he's looking at about three more years of being a young kid before moving on to his time at Empire State University. For comparison, Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker was in college by the time the first act of Sam Raimi's first Spider-Man was over, and Andrew Garfield's version not only always looked a bit old for high school, but also graduated in the early scenes of The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
There are many reasons why having a younger Spider-Man makes sense for Marvel Studios - especially in terms of keeping him around for years and years - but perhaps the most exciting is the way that he will interact with other superheroes. The 50 year old Tony Stark lives a much different life than the teenage Peter Parker, and the webhead's presence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe offers up tremendous opportunity to take advantage of the age contrast.
Tom Holland has already filmed his first scenes as Spider-Man, as he will have a small supporting role in Joe and Anthony Russo's Captain America: Civil War, and for now is just waiting for his next opportunity to get into the red and blue spandex. This should happen late next summer, allowing Marvel Studios, Sony Pictures, and Walt Disney Pictures about a year to get the Spider-Man film ready for its debut in theaters on July 28, 2017. As always, stay tuned for more detains!
