What Could Have Been: Josh Hutcherson as Spider-Man

Casting News, News

I found it somewhat surprising that Sony didn’t make some kind of announcement or presentation at the San Diego Comic-Con regarding their upcoming Spider-Man reboot film to be directed by Marc Webb. Over the last year, the search for a new Peter Parker was a hot topic among comic book geeks and movie fans alike. When Andrew Garfield (star of the upcoming Never Let Me Go) was announced as the new Spider-Man, though, things got eerily quiet.

There’s been little talk about supporting cast, villains or any other details — announcements that could have made a bit of an impact at this past weekend’s SDCC. On the other hand, though, it’s been kind of nice to be able to go a day without hearing more off-the-wall rumors about who would be donning the red and blue tights and swinging through New York City on a web.

There were a lot of young actors’ names thrown around during the casting process for Spider-Man. One of the most recurring was Josh Hutcherson, star of Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D (and most recently The Kids Are All Right). Hutcherson’s name was even brought up as the sure-fire pick for the new Spider-Man by several popular movie sites. In the end, though, Hutcherson will have to resign himself to a few more months hoping his next film, the upcoming remake of Red Dawn, actually gets released in theaters sometime soon.

Latino Review has obtained and posted a video Hutcherson shot during the audition process. The video was meant to show Sony executives he had what it took to chancel that Parker personality as well as deal with some high-flying stunt work. Writer El Mayimbe even goes on to report that Larnell Stovall, the in-demand fight choreography behind Undisputed III and that recent Mortal Kombat movie pitch, was responsible for the high flying choreography in Hutcherson’s video.

While the video is certainly no more embarrassing than Sean Young’s homemade Catwoman costume that she donned in an attempt to win the part in Batman Returns, it just goes to serve as a warning to actors seeking to go above and beyond to win a role. In the world of YouTube and online blogs, your dirty laundry will be aired. Luckily for Hutcherson, I think he would have made a pretty fine Peter Parker. He certainly handles the action scenes and can pull off the right amount of dorkiness for the role of Peter Parker.

What do you think? Would Hutcherson have been a fine choice for the amazing Spider-Man?

Robert Saucedo is an avid movie watcher with seriously poor sleeping habits. The Mikey from Life cereal of film fans, Robert will watch just about anything — good, bad or ugly. He has written about film for newspapers, radio and online for the last 10 years. This has taken a toll on his sanity — of that you can be sure. Follow him on Twitter at @robsaucedo2500.