Donald Glover Will Leave the Spider-Man Campaigning to Fans This Time
When Sony was on the hunt for a new Spider-Man in 2010, the Internet answered with an inspired choice: Donald Glover, at the time best known for his work on TV’s cult favorite comedy Community. Editorials were penned, memes were shared, a Facebook page was launched, and #Donald4Spiderman became a trending topic on Twitter. Glover himself embraced the movement, attempting to retweet his way into an audition.
The role, of course, went to Andrew Garfield. But it’s 2015 and Sony is once again on the hunt for a new Spidey following the announcement that the webcrawler will finally cross over into Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. So when we sat down with him for a recent ‘Things We’ve Always Wondered’ interview (coming next week), we of course had to ask if he wants to be back in the running to play Peter Parker.
"Of course, I would always be honored to play Spider-Man," Glover said. "But I just want the Spider-Man movie to be dope, that’s all I want."
But Glover said he won’t be stumping for it this time around. “I’m leaving it to them,” he said of his fans. “Campaigning’s part of life, but for me, I’ve got a lot of stuff that I’m really excited about, and dropping it all… of course it’d be an honor. But it’s fine, if it comes, if not.”
One of many fan images created imagining Glover as Spider-Man.
Much has changed for Glover, a once-active social media participant who has essentially erased his footprint on Twitter, Instragram, and Tumblr over the past five years. He has a burgeoning rap career under the name Childish Gambino. He left Community, which has since moved to Yahoo Screen, after Season 5. (One of the show’s best Easter Eggs had his character, Troy, rising from bed one morning in Spidey pajamas.) And he’s getting steady work in movies: He’s currently in the horror movie The Lazarus Effect, will next appear in the stripper sequel Magic Mike XXL, and is currently working on Ridley Scott’s sci-fi film The Martian as part of a star-studded cast that also includes Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, and Kristen Wiig.
He’s also voicing Spider-Man in the animated TV series Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors on Disney XD. Glover will play the role of Miles Morales, a character who in the comics takes over Spidey duties after Peter Parker is killed.
Could that be a stepping stone to wearing the Spidey suit on the big screen? He wouldn’t mind your support — just don’t expect a retweet.
Watch Glover in the trailer for The Lazarus Effect, opening Feb. 27:
