Tony Revolori recently opened up about his audition process for Spider-Man: Homecoming. The latest reboot of the superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, led by Tom Holland, premiered in 2017 and was a box-office smash hit. Revolori portrayed Spider-Man super-fan and Peter Parker antagonist Flash Thompson in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far from Home, and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
When the time came to find a new Spider-Man for the new phase in the MCU, several actors auditioned for the iconic role of Peter Parker. The character would first show up in Captain America: Civil War, and later on lead his new solo film, Spider-Man: Homecoming. Holland was the one who ultimately got the coveted role of the lead superhero, but other actors who also auditioned for the part ended up being cast as other characters in the movie.
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That was the case for American-Guatemalan actor Revolori, who originally auditioned for the lead role, but was ultimately cast as Flash. In a recent interview with Insider, Revolori talked about his audition process for Spider-Man. The actor says he doesn't really believe he had an actual shot of being cast as the lead role because he wasn't what they were looking for at the time:
"It seems to commonly occur that we go into a part like this where you want it so badly, you're willing to do more than anyone else. But it becomes a tough thing when you're not even considered for it before they move along. I think the issue is that, sure, they let us all audition, but did we even have the chance? I'm sure they would tell you otherwise because they're far too kind, but I remember absolutely bombing the audition because I didn't have any belief in myself to be able to say, 'Yes, I can be Spider-Man, I will be Spider-Man,' because there's no representation there, not in the comics."
Will Miles Morales Become Spider-Man in the MCU?
While Revolori expresses that he felt like he didn't have a shot at the role of Spider-Man, the winds seem to be slowly changing for representation. Characters like MJ and Peter's best friend Ned were originally white in the comics and are played by Zendaya and Jacob Batalon. In the 2018 animation Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, we met the animated version of the comic book character Miles Morales, a Hispanic teenager who suddenly finds himself with spider powers. Miles' popularity skyrocketed so fast, that in 2020 Sony released an action-adventure game titled Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which has also been a huge success.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has confirmed that a fourth Spider-Man movie is in development. It would be interesting to see if they find a way to bring Miles Morales into the MCU in this new film, maybe having him train under Peter Parker. In Marvel Comics, Flash eventually becomes the anti-hero Venom, so Revolori may yet get a chance to play a superhero. Representation in film, literature, and TV still has a long way to go, but things are most definitely – albeit slowly – changing. After all, following movies like Black Panther, The Woman King, and the upcoming The Little Mermaid and Blue Beetle, chances are we will see a Hispanic Spider-Man sooner rather than later.