Tom Holland will make his debut as the new Peter Parker in Marvel's 2016 blockbuster Captain America: Civil War, but most of our excitement is centered on his standalone reboot movie, Spider-Man, set for release in 2017. As production on this new film approaches news regarding characters and casting has been circulating, with an announcement dropping earlier this week. Disney Channel star and singer, Zendaya (Coleman) has joined the Sony and Marvel production, but her role has yet to be revealed.
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You might remember the actress and singer for her recent Grammys appearance with a "mullet" (via Pret-a-Reporter) or possibly her dreadlocks controversy of 2015 (via Refinery 29), but the 19-year-old is about to really hit the mainstream spotlight in 2017 with this new leading role in a superhero movie - perhaps the biggest superhero movie of the year (via MStars News)!
According to Slash Film, via The Hollywood Reporter's Borys Kit's Twitter account, Sony and Marvel are hoping to cast a diverse roster of stars for a number of their upcoming projects, so Zendaya's role might not be based on her race.
Sources tell me that Marvel/Sony has been looking to go heavily non-white with the SPIDER-MAN supporting cast.
— Borys Kit (@Borys_Kit) March 7, 2016
In fact, the name she's credited as in the movie (so far) is "Michelle," which could mean that she's portraying Michele Gonzales, a comic book love interest of Parker (via Gamma Squad), but it could also just be a lazy fake out from the studios (via Deadline).
Basically, we can expect a ton of racially insensitive comments from "fans" on the Internet now that Zendaya has joined the cast. This is, of course, the worst aspect of the movie industry, especially the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
