Way back before Tom Holland landed his career-changing role as the Spider-Man of the MCU, dozens upon dozens of young actors filled audition rooms hoping to be the lucky one to land the part. The search was exhaustive and while the role eventually went with the really good choice of Holland, plenty of other promising actors had their names in the hat. One of these people was Chandler Riggs, who is perhaps better known as Carl from The Walking Dead. Riggs recently re-confirmed that he had auditioned for the role and doesn't seem too broken up about how things turned out.
I thought Spider-Man would be pretty cool, I auditioned for that a few years ago. But Tom Holland is such an incredible actor, and he's so funny.
Chandler Riggs' days as Carl on The Walking Dead may be over, but his conference appearances will never end. During an audience Q&A at Walker Stalker Con in Nashville, Tennessee (via ComicBook), Riggs was asked what Marvel superhero he'd want to play. The actor has a bit more free time on his hands now that his character has been killed off the long-running zombie show, so is he interested in nailing an extensive blockbuster contract? He didn't really have an answer as to what specific character he'd want, but he already did try his hand at Spider-Man. Obviously, that went to Tumblr's favorite crush Tom Holland, and Riggs doesn't seem to have any hard feelings over it. Rejection is the life of an actor!
Chandler Riggs wasn't the only actor who auditioned for the part of Spider-Man after the character was rebooted following Amazing Spider-Man 2. Asa Butterfield, Charlie Plummer, and Mathew Lintz were all reportedly frontrunners for the part alongside Tom Holland. Due to the specific circumstances involving this version of the character finally joining the MCU, this audition race got a ton of media attention, but in the end, Holland came out the winner. Now it's hard to picture anyone else in the role.
Apparently, Riggs also tried out for the role of young Han Solo in Solo: A Star Wars Story, which was itself an exhaustive search to find just the right actor. It might be a good thing Riggs didn't get that one (not many people can compare to Harrison Ford in his prime), but it looks like the actor is interested in pursuing all opportunities that come his way.
Chandler Riggs may yet get to play a superhero or blockbuster role yet, but in the meantime, you can still see Spider-Man in action in Avengers: Infinity War, in theaters right now.
