Production Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is rolling around and much news has been broken recently on what new characters will be joining Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker in the film's sequel and more importantly who will play them. With Electro, Norman Osborn, Mary Jane Watson, and Harry Osborn, all confirmed to be included in the film, names are already being dropped for who will take on these roles. With Shailene Woodly (The Descendant) casted as Mary Jane, and Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained) as Electro, the main question that remains is who will take on the role of Peter's best friend Harry.
According to THR, Sony has narrowed down a shortlist of actors for the part, which include
Chronicle's Dane DeHaan,
Tetro's Alden Ehrenreich, and
Melancholia's Brady Cobert. The role was previously taken on by James Franco in Sam Raimi's
Spider-Man trilogy, although his take on the character took more of an influence from the Ultimate Comics version of Harry making him cooler and more popular than Peter, but still keeping his envy and hatred for Peter and Harry intact. The new version of the character seems to be taking a more classic approach as apparent by the actors being considered, similar to the more nerdy and secretive Harry Osborn who definitely has a dark side to him.
As for the actors being considered, all of them hold there own as pretty impressive actors. DeHaan seems to be the more popular choice, after his performance in
Chronicle earlier this year where he played a character with very similar personality traits to Harry himself, not to mention his roles in both
Lawless and
Lincoln. Alden Ehrenreich on the other hand is obviously less well known that DeHaan, but he has been my personal choice for Harry for quite a while now. Mainly because he has a more fitting look age wise to be alongside Garfield's Peter, as well as proving his acting abilities in
Tetro and he's hoping to breakout in the all new film
Beautifal Creatures in which he plays the main character Ethan.
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| From Left to Right: Dane DeHaan, Brady Corbert, Alden Ehrenreich |
Well I'm not familiar with Brady, he has a pretty impressive resume which includes
Martha Marcy May Marlene and
Melancholia, but judging from his previous work it seems he has really shown a dark side in many different roles. Other names have been brought up for the role by fans, many of which were up for the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man himself including fan favorite Anton Yelchin (
Fright Night), Emile Hirsch (
Speed Racer), Michael Angarano (
Sky High), Paul Dano
(Looper), Aaron Johnson (
Kick-Ass), Tom Felton (
Harry Potter), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (
Looper), Jamie Bell (
The Adventures of Tintin), and even James Franco's own brother Dave Franco (
21 Jump Street).
Ultimately who ever gets the role will be joining a cast that includes returning cast members Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Chris Zylka, and Sally Fields. The will also be with new cast additions Shailene Woodley as Mary Jane Watson, and Jamie Foxx as the film's villain Maxwell Dillon/Electro. The role of Norman Osborn remains unconfirmed, although rumor has it Damien Lewis
(Homeland); who was previously denied the role of Electro, is up for the part Norman. Although rumors point that Michael Massee, the man man credited as playing the mysterious stranger who talks to Curt Connors in The
Amazing Spider-Man's after credit scene may very well have been Norman Osborn. I guess we'll find out in the coming weeks as casting progresses, and hopefully we'll see if J. Jonah Jameson will be included in the film and who will be playing him.
Who do you think should play Harry Osborn? Are you happy with the actors Sony and Webb are considering?
