Fan-Cast: Who Should Play Harry Osborn In The Spider-Man Reboot

The Spider-Man reboot cast is shaping up great with Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen, and Sally Fields all set to star, but one very important character has yet to be cast, Peter Parker's best friend Harry Osborn. Previously played by James Franco in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films, it makes you wonder who Marc Webb will cast in the role, or if he will even be in the film at all. I have some suggestions of my own for the next Harry Osborn.

Well as we all know, the Spider-Man reboot will take place in high school. Now, in the comic books, Peter Parker meets Harry Osborn (The son of Oscorp CEO Norman Osborn) in college when they share a dorm. My theory is that anyone that can play Peter Parker, can play Harry. He's not very different from Peter other than his bratty side, neglecting father, and jealousy at first. But the problem in this case is, who can play Harry opposite Andrew Garfield's Peter. Andrew is twenty seven, so we can't just get some small fry eighteen year old to play his best friend. But this depends on just what version of Harry they're going for; Ultimate or classic?

I always thought, from the Spider-Man short list, that Anton Yelchin and Alden Ehrenreich were better fit for the role of Harry. But the only way it would've worked is if you'd casted a young actor like Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson And The Olympians: The Lightning Theif) or Josh Hutcherson (Journey To The Center of the Earth) as Peter. But now in the Ultimate comics version of Harry, he's much more similar to Franco's version in the Raimi films. He's taller, has more of an athletic build, and he'd probably be considered cooler and more out going than Peter. But since we've already seen that version of the character, it would only make sense that Marc Webb will be looking to take a different approach to the character of Harry as well. And the more shy, nerdy, and conflicted version of Harry is more fitting for either Yelchin or Ehrenreich, especially opposite Garfield's Peter. Anton Yelchin has recently proven himself in such films at Star Trek and Terminator Salvation, and he's a great young actor who could've even pulled off Peter Parker himself. Ehrenreich on the other hand is a little less known but gave an outstanding performance in Tetro, and he's even been compared to a young Leonardo DiCaprio which would be great for this version of the character.

Now if Marc Webb does indeed decide to go the same route as Raimi did and take influence from the Ultimate comics version of Harry Osborn, then the game changes. The Ultimate version of Harry, like I said earlier should be taller and more muscular than Harry, similar to the differences between James Franco and Tobey Maguire's versions of the character. He more of a bad boy then anything in comparison to Peter, but the problem is I personally had considered Andrew Garfield himself as a candidate for this version of Harry before he was chosen as Peter Parker. With Garfield being twenty seven and six feet tall, it's be hard to find an actor who looks a bit older, taller, and more muscular than him. The two actors that come directly to mind are none other than Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy) and Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass). 

While Aaron Johnson might've played the more nerdy Peter Parker-esque character in Kick-Ass, he has also proven himself to be able to tackle other very different roles as seen in his performance as John Lennon in Nowhere Boy. Garfield and Johnson would be great on screen together, and Johnson would actually be able to offer the slightly older look to Harry that we got from Franco's. As for Hedlund, he's instantly made his name after recently starring as Sam Flynn in Tron: Legacy, and he two would work very well with Garfield on screen and would offer a good comparison both height wise and in acting style. My only problem with any of these two being this version of Harry is that it'd come off too similar to the Raimi version of Harry, which doesn't seem to be what Marc Webb wants. Plus both of these actors could be great fits for the Ultimate version of Eddie Brock, when the time comes to introduce Venom into the series.

And that's what brings me to my final conclusion as to who should be the next Harry Osborn, none other than Inception's Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He's got a balance between the look of both Ultimate and classic Harry Osborn, the age in comparison to Garfield, the experience, and the acting chops to join the reboot cast. On top of all that he's the most likely choice as well having already worked with Marc Webb on his first film 500 Days of Summer. It was a surprise Webb didn't consider Levitt for the Peter Parker role, but perhaps it was because he thought there was another role out there that better fit him, presumably that of Harry Osborn. The only things holding Levitt back from the role would be his schedule as he'll be starring in Rian Johnson's Looper, and rumors have circulated that Christopher Nolan wants him as Robin in The Dark Knight Rises. Only time will tell whether JGL really could be our Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man reboot.

So who do you think would be a good Harry Osborn? What do you think of my choice?