Entertainment

Who Are These 'Spider-Man' Newcomers Playing?

by Michelle Lulic

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has finally given fans a taste of the new Spider-Man with Tom Holland's superhero-debut appearance in May's premiere of Captain America: Civil War. The web-crawler's own solo film is on its way, and an entire new cast of characters is set to hit the big-screen in Marvel's Spider-Man: Homecoming. And, no, I'm not talking about the already-announced actors that include Marisa Tomei as Aunt May and Michael Keaton as Vulture. Spider-Man: Homecoming added three new teen actors — literally, as they are all relative newcomers — into superhero territory: Isabella Amara, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., and JJ Totah.

It's still unclear who these three young actors will play now thatThe Hollywood Reporter has announced the news of their casting in the Jon Watts-directed film. Considering that the film follows a younger, high school-aged Peter Parker, it only makes sense that a couple of younger actors join his side. At the same time, the question of how big their roles may be (or who they could possible play) are still coming to my mind. Unlike the characters the older, well-known actors are playing, these teens have their roles completely undisclosed — which makes me think that this could be the beginning of the MCU's very own on-screen Spider-Verse.

So, here's who these new actors on the superhero scene could be.

Isabella Amara

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17-year-old actress, Isabella Amara, isn't totally new to the big-screen. Just this past year, she appeared as the teenage version of Melissa McCarthy in the film, The Boss, along with numerous other roles in a number of different short and feature films — some of which are still yet to be released. In Spider-Man, she could be a classmate or possible love interest for Peter (Mary Jane, anyone?). Or, perhaps, she could be yet-to-be-seen Spider-Verse characters such as Cindy Moon (Silk), Jessica Drew (before she is the well-known assassin-turned-Spider-Woman), or even Arana (who ends up being Spider-Woman's apprentice). After all, her character can certainly develop over time — depending on who Zendaya is cast as as well.

Jorge Lendeborg Jr.

Isabella isn't the only teen actor joining the cast who has already made their big-screen debut. Jorge Lendeborg Jr. appeared on an episode of the television series Graceland and alongside Moises Arias in the 2016 Sundance film, The Land. And now his character possibilities are endless as well. An obvious character choice could be Peter's best friend Harry Osborn, or, if the wider Spider-Verse is involved, he could be Miles Morales or one of the many other mutations or clones of Spider-Man in the long term. I wouldn't put it past them to already tie Peter to the guy who takes over his position down the line.

JJ Totah

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JJ Totah may be a familiar face to those of you who watched shows like Glee, Jessie, or even Liv & Maddie. And he's definitely a familiar face to the younger generation. My biggest bet is that JJ Totah is playing someone's younger sibling. In fact, if Spider-Girl is in the picture, then Totah playing Spider-Girl's younger brother, Benjy Parker, would make perfect sense. Or, perhaps, JJ Totah is just another one of Spidey's classmates, biggest fans, or even a character in a flashback scene. There's no way to really tell at this point.

No matter what characters they may be, Spider-Man sure has some potential friends on the way. That alone could be all this young undercover superhero needs to makes it through the day.

Images: IFC Films/YouTube