After Marvel and Sony announced in February that Spider-Man is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a report surfaced that both studios were eyeing much younger actors to play the new Spider-Man. It has been confirmed that Spidey will appear in one Marvel movie first, presumably Captain America: Civil War, before the new stand alone Spider-Man adventure hits theaters in the summer of 2017. With production about to start in just a few weeks on Captain America 3, Badass Digest reports that 16-year-old actor Mateus Ward is the first known actor to auditioned to play the new Peter Parker.

The audition was reportedly so secretive that it was held at a house, not a production office, but it isn't clear if he has won the part, or how many other actors both Sony and Marvel are looking at. Even if Spider-Man only has a cameo role in Captain America: Civil War, the production still needs to lock an actor down with a multi-film "ironclad contract" before shooting gets under way. Marvel still hasn't confirmed that Spidey will even appear in Captain America: Civil War, but there have been multiple reports stating that is the case, which makes sense since the character was featured in the Civil War comic book arc written by Mark Millar. Captain America: Civil War is also one of three Marvel movies slated to debut before Sony's stand alone Spider-Man on July 28, 2017, along with Doctor Strange (November 4, 2016) and Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (May 5, 2017).

If Mateus Ward does sign on, the project will mark his feature debut. He has previously had arcs on Showtime's Weeds and CBS' Hostages. This potential casting also essentially confirms that the new Spider-Man will in fact be Peter Parker, and not Miles Morales, a young African-American high school student who eventually takes over the Spider-Man mantle in the comic books. Peter Parker's inclusion was also teased by Marvel CEO Joe Quesada, who mentioned Peter Parker when answering a fan's question on his Tumblr page. While the fan didn't specifically mention either Peter Parker or Miles Morales, when asking if Joe Quesada has seen any concept art from the new movie, the Marvel exec had this to say about, "what is most important to making this Spider-Man film the best that it can be."

"The trick to making any incarnation of Spider-Man great, whether comics, animation or film is Peter Parker. Get Peter's character right and the rest falls into place."

What do you think about these new details? Are you glad that they are looking for a much younger Peter Parker? Or would you rather see a young Miles Morales instead? Let us know what you think, and stay tuned for more updates and developments regarding the new Spider-Man.