Michael Barbieri Joins 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' As A Possibly Original Character

From the moment Spider-Man's involvement in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was announced, the studio made it very clear that we'd be getting a much younger version of the character then we've seen before. While this has led to some backlash from audiences accustomed to an older adult Spider-Man, many are happy to finally see Peter Parker as the fifteen year old kid we all know and love from the comics. Director Jon Watts seems determined to surround twenty year old Tom Holland with an impressive cast of young and upcoming actors, one of which will be fourteen year old Michael Barbieri (The Dark Tower). 

Heroic Hollywood first broke the news of Barbieri's casting which has since been confirmed by several other sites including Deadline. The site doesn't suggest what character Barbieri could be playing, but the initial thought is that he could be playing Peter Parker's best friend Harry Osborn. While Peter doesn't meet Harry until college in the comics, the last two film series and TV shows have taken their own liberties with the character, so who's to say Marvel Studios won't do the same?

Comicbook.com on the other hand suggest they do know who Barbieri is playing, and he'll apparently be an original character created for the movie. The character will apparently have many similarities to Ultimate Spider-Man character Ganke, who is featured in those comics as Miles Morales' best friend. Ganke is not only best friends with the second Spider-Man in the comics, but he's also a huge supporter of all superheroes which is an attribute of the character that may carry over in Barbieri's rendition. While its unknown if Barbieri is actually playing Ganke or a character similar to him, this could possibly tease some kind of appearance by Miles Morales in the film.

Barbieri doesn't have much credit to his name aside from his role in Little Men, but he's set to make an appearance in next year's adaption of Stephen King's The Dark Tower alongside big name talents such as Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey. The actor certainly seems to fit the relatively unknown young mold that Spider-Man: Homecoming has been looking for. Heroic Hollywood also mentions that Barbieri was also up for the role of Peter Parker himself, and managed to impress them so much that they called him back for this new role.

So are you exciting to see a young up and comer join Spider-Man: Homecoming? What character would you prefer to see him play? Let us know below!