Rumor: Marvel Auditioned A 16-Year-Old Actor For Spider-Man

Currently there are two big debates going on among Spider-Man movie fans. First: will the character in the third reboot be Peter Parker or Miles Morales? Second, how old will the actor be? The answer to that second question has been widely reported as "younger than previous versions" and now a report of a secret audition seems to confirm that. Along the way, it likely answers the first question, too.

Mateus Ward, a 16-year-old currently seen on the TNT show Murder in the First, reportedly did an audition for the role of Spider-Man. Read more about the Spider-Man auditions below.Badass Digest reported the news of the Spider-Man audition. Here's Ward:

Now, this is important. The juicy news here isn't specifically in regards to Ward. Thousands of actors audition for roles they don't get. Ward may, or may not end up being Spider-Man. (More than likely not.) The news is that a white, 16-year-old actor is up for the role. That very much suggests the character is Peter Parker and will be in high school again. Everyone assumed that would be the case but this is a good piece of evidence.

An interesting side note is that the audition reportedly didn't even happen on a lot or in a traditional office space. It took place at someone's house hoping to be extra secret. That didn't matter in the long run, unfortunately.

Here's my question with this. Ward is 16-year-old now, which works out great for Captain America: Civil War, because it shoots this year. The new Spider-Man won't shoot until next year. Then he's 17. The movie comes out in 2017, he's 18. That's when he shoots Avengers: Infinity War. When that comes out in 2019 and there's potentially a second solo film, he's 20. So is 16 a good age or should they go a year or two younger to preserve an extra "teenage" Spider-Man appearance?

However, that's taking age literally. 16-year-olds in Hollywood can play an 11-year-old if the actor looks young. I think we see what Marvel and Sony are doing here.

Does anyone know anything about Mateus Ward? For you, does this confirm a teenage Peter Parker?

The Spider-Man reboot, written and directed by Drew Goddard, opens July 28, 2017.