[dropcap size=small]B[/dropcap]ack in 2010, actor/rapper Donald Glover (Community, Childish Gambino) had shared his heavy interest in playing Peter Parker in the The Amazing Spider-Man franchise. The idea was met with immediate positive (and some negative) reception from his fans and Twitter blew up with the hashtag #Donald4SpiderMan. Ultimately the gig went to Andrew Garfield, and that was that.
Now, four years later, Donald Glover’s wish is coming true and he will indeed get to play Spider-Man…’s voice, in a cartoon, on a story arc featuring that of Disney XD’s Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors. It’s not in the movies, but it’s still pretty cool.
Glover won’t be voicing Peter Parker, but rather Miles Morales, a half-black and half-hispanic Spider-Man from the Ultimate Comics Marvel Universe. The character was written into the comics after Peter Parker was killed off in the his universe, though Peter still remains alive and kicking in the primary Amazing Marvel Universe.
Miles had gained powers similar to Peter, with a few additional ones, after having been bitten by a spider that escaped Oscorp’s testing facilities. After the incident, Miles Morales dawned the mantle and spandex of Spider-Man with the approval of Aunt May, Gwen Stacy and eventually even Nick Fury and the Avengers. With the Avengers guidance, Miles starts to become worthy of the name and the suit of Spider-Man and the legacy he left behind. Take a look at the clip below from the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon.
http://youtu.be/dZz_r9_ZBAI
The episode is set to air on Disney XD at some point next year, but Donald Glover has stated he hopes that he could somehow keep the role if there ever happened to be a movie based on Miles Morales and his story. Though in the comics, Miles is just a 13 year-old, it may just be a bit more difficult for the now 30 year-old actor to cling to the role. But hey, stranger things have happened!
