Rumor: The New Spider-Man Won't Be White

Spider-Man is coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the near future... but Peter Parker might not be. A new rumor claims the next friendly neighborhood webslinger will not be a white man, and will not be Peter Parker. Could we finally get the Miles Morales movie we've been waiting for?

More on the possibility of a non white Spider Man after the jump. 

TheWrap's Jeff Sneider dropped the news during an appearance on the Meet the Movie Press podcast:

Listen, this is not set in stone guys, but I'm telling you right now, Spider-Man's not going to be white. Spider-Man's not going to be white. I'm 95% sure. Spider-Man's going to be most likely black. But there's a chance he could also be Latino. 95% sure, not white.

Sneider stops short of saying the new Spider-Man will be Miles Morales but adds, "I don't think it's going to be Peter Parker."

As with any rumor, we'd caution you to take this info with a grain of salt. Marvel and Sony haven't said anything, and there's still time for them to make up their minds. That said, Sneider tends to be reliable and responsible. It's unlikely he'd make such a major claim without some good inside info.

Interestingly, Sneider thinks the Sony hack may have played a role in the decision to cast a non-white Spider-Man.

I really feel strongly. Sony has an opportunity to beat Marvel and DC to the punch with a major black comic book character. Like I mentioned last week, the emails that leaked were perceived as racist in some quarters. I really think that's going to play into things.

Sneider's comments contradict earlier reports that Logan Lerman is in contention for the role, but he seems fairly comfortable dismissing that possibility. "Oh, please," he said.

The new Spider-Man gets his first solo film on July 28, 2017. However, he's expected to debut much earlier in Captain America: Civil War, due out May 5, 2016. Which hopefully means we'll get official casting news sooner rather than later. (Sony, if you're listening, we have some suggestions for you.)

After years of lily-white superhero leads, it'd be great to see a non-white actor take over one of the most iconic superheroes of all time. But even leaving aside the diversity angle, it's time to steer away from Peter Parker because he's already been done to death.

The Amazing Spider-Man reboot came too quickly on the heels of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, and I don't think many fans have it in them to sit through yet another incarnation of Uncle Ben's death, the "great responsibility" speech, etc., etc. Miles (or whoever the non-white, non-Peter Parker Spider-Man winds up being) has the potential to add a genuinely fresh spin on a familiar character.

If you want to see the Spider-Man talk for yourself, it starts around 44:30 below.