Just as Peter Parker magically gets younger with each passing Spider-Man reboot, so does the role of his iconic guardian, Aunt May. 87 year-old Rosemary Harris took on the role in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, and that torch was passed to 68 year-old Sally Field for Marc Webb’s Amazing Spider-Man films. Now, 50 year-old Marisa Tomei is in final negotiations to take on the role in Sony and Marvel’s upcoming 2017 reboot.
The news comes from Variety’s Justin Kroll, who says that while the casting has yet to be made official, the Academy Award winner has been offered the coveted role. The studio recently found its new Peter Parker – in the form of The Impossible actor Tom Holland – after an extensive worldwide search, and now the focus has shifted to filling in the film’s supporting cast. We don’t yet know who else from the Spider-Man mythos is expected to appear (though recent rumors suggest that Norman Osborn will once again show his megalomaniacal face), but the role of Aunt May was a no-brainer.
[zerg]Like the actresses who’ve played the role before her, this is a big change of pace for Tomei, who’s spent her career acting in dramas like The Wrestler and comedies like My Cousin Vinny (which earned her an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role) rather than big studio tentpoles.
This may also be a sign of what’s to come for the series as it goes through its third reboot. Peter Parker will be markedly younger this time around, but this is a dramatic change for the role of Aunt May, who’s always been longer in the tooth on both film and in the pages of Marvel comics. Still, this is exciting news nonetheless, as Tomei is a fantastic actress, and well suited for a role of this calibre.
Directed by Jon Watts, the currently untitled Spider-Man reboot will hit theaters on July 28th, 2017.