Jabari Banks may be new to the acting world, but the star has his eyes on a bigger prize: Marvel’s Spider-Man.
The 24-year-old became a breakout star as Will Smith in Peacock’s Bel-Air, the dramatized reboot of the 1990 sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air when it premiered on the streaming service last year. Since then, Banks has reprised his role in the series’ second season.
During a recent red carpet interview with Variety at the NAACP Awards in Pasadena, California, Banks opened up about the Marvel character he would love to play in the future. When asked if he was “moving into Marvel now,” which was possibly in reaction to Banks’ attire and the type of character, he could envision himself playing, the actor said,
“I think I want to be Spider-Man. Spider-Man, he’s my favorite superhero.”
When the interviewer brought up that the live-action story of Miles Morales has yet to be cast, Banks joked that despite his aspirations of wanting to land the role of Spiderman one day, given his all-black ensemble and gold chain that he was wearing at the award ceremony, he could also see himself as the King of Wakanda.
“I mean I don’t know, I’m kind of dressed like Black Panther.”
Over the years, the roles of Spider-Man/Peter Parker have been played by actors Tobey McGuire, Andrew Garfield, and, most recently, Tom Holland. As for Sony’s animated project Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the first film to introduce the character Mile Morales, Shameik Moore lent his voice as the teen.
Although Banks could play Morales in live action if the stars align, for now, Moore will be reprising his role as the teen in the animated sequel, and Holland is most likely to return as his character for future projects.