The Key to Next ‘Spider-Man’ Movie Is Peter Parker, Says Marvel’s Chief Creative Officer

Since it was revealed that Marvel Studios would have input into the next big screen Spider-Man, fans immediately started wondering whether that meant there was a chance that Miles Morales — the “Ultimate Spider-Man” of Marvel’s comic book continuity — was about to receive a cinematic spotlight anytime soon.

A new message from Marvel’s Chief Creative Officer suggests that the answer is “no.”

On his newly-created Tumblr — set up in part to promote Marvel’s Daredevil, which launches on Netflix Apr. 10 — Joe Quesada responded to a fan’s question about how to make the best Spider-Man movie in a way that left no doubts as to his allegiance to a particular secret identity.

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

Emphasizing Parker’s character as the foundation of the next film doesn’t necessarily close off the possibility that Sony will choose a non-white actor for the next movie Spider-Man, although it does significantly lessen the likelihood that it will happen. One of the reasons fans rallied around the possibility of a Miles Morales movie was that it would increase the diversity of onscreen superheroes, with Morales being half-African American, half-Latino in his comic book incarnation.

Of course, just because Quesada feels that Peter Parker is integral to a Spider-Man movie doesn’t necessarily mean that Sony will choose that version of the character over Miles Morales — although, given the amount of existing awareness (and merchandise) for the Parker version, it’d be more surprising if a non-Parker Spider-Man was selected. Sorry, Ben Reilly.

Sony’s next Spider-Man project, reportedly to be written and directed by Drew Goddard, will be released in July 2017, following an appearance in an unspecified Marvel Studios project.

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