Spider-Man: Homecoming Producers Perfectly Address Film’s Diverse Casting

Spider-Man: Homecoming‘s cast is comprised of one of the most diverse of all films this summer, let alone Marvel Studios productions over the past 10 years.

The roster of young actors includes 20-year-old Tom Holland, 20-year-old Jacob Batalon, 20-year-old Zendaya, and 25-year-old Laura Harrier, with a 52-year-old Marisa Tomei stepping in for an aged down Aunt May. It’s a Spider-Man cast unlike one which Marvel fans had become accustomed to through a pair of cinematic franchises and many more years of comics.

In fact, it’s so different from the usual portrayal of these characters, that one integral Spider-Man character who is usually illustrated as a Caucasian male with blonde hair is portrayed by 21-year-old Guatemalan actor Tony Revolori. During a press conference for Spider-Man: Homecoming, the cast and crew were asked to address what the diversity means to them and the film.

“Thank you to Jon [Watts], Amy [Pascal] and Kevin [Feige] for casting a 5-foot-8 brown guy to play a 6-foot-2 blond, blue-eyed guy,” Revolori said.

Then came executive producer Pascal’s perfect explanation for assembling such a diverse cast.

“I would say the inspiration for it was reality,” said Pascal.

The response was greeted with applause from the crowd and needed no further explanation to satisfy the room.

The diversity within the Marvel Cinematic Universe will only continue to grow with 2018’s release of Black Panther, featuring a cast of Chadwick Boseman, Danai Gurira, Angela Bassett, Michael B. Jordan, Andy Serkis, and Martin Freeman before many of the actors appear in Avengers: Infinity War.

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You can find the official synopsis for Homecoming below, which has a 4.13 out of 5 on ComicBook.com’s anticipation rankings young Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland), who made his sensational debut in Captain America: Civil War, begins to navigate his newfound identity as the web-slinging super hero in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, Peter returns home, where he lives with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), under the watchful eye of his new mentor Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.). Peter tries to fall back into his normal daily routine – distracted by thoughts of proving himself to be more than just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man – but when the Vulture (Michael Keaton) emerges as a new villain, everything that Peter holds most important will be threatened.

The cast includes Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Tyne Daly, Bokeem Woodbine, with Marisa Tomei, and Robert Downey Jr. It also includes Jon Favreau, Martin Starr, Kenneth Choi, Michael Mando, Selenis Leyva, Isabella Amara, Jorge Lendeborg, Jr., JJ Totah, and Hannibal Buress.