July 08--Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is getting a new legal guardian: Marisa Tomei is in final negotiations to play Aunt May in Sony and Marvel's untitled movie rebooting the wall-crawling superhero.
A person with knowledge of the production confirmed Wednesday that Tomei would play a more modern iteration of Peter Parker's aunt and caretaker. Variety first reported that the actress was circling the role.
Tomei, 50, would make for a considerably younger Aunt May than both Sally Field, who was 65 when "The Amazing Spider-Man" hit theaters in 2012, and Rosemary Harris, who was in her 70s when she appeared in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" movies.
Many fans and observers on social media reacted with surprise to Tomei's potential casting, with some suggesting that she's too young for the role. On the other hand, a less dowdy Aunt May would be in keeping with the fresh-faced Peter/Spidey being played by 19-year-old Tom Holland.
Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield were well into their 20s when they donned the red-and-blue spandex, and Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige recently told The Times that casting a younger actor in Holland was "very intentional."
Jon Watts ("Cop Car") is directing the new Spider-Man movie, which is scheduled to hit theaters July 28, 2017.
