UPDATE: Donald Glover has had a cloud of mystery over his Spider-Man: Homecoming character. But that mystery is no more! Thanks to the film novelization and a Disney Channel special, we now know who Glover’s character is. If you don’t want to hear any SPOILERS, you should back out now!
Are you still here? Okay, here it is!
Donald Glover Is…
Aaron Davis.
If that name doesn’t sound familiar, he is the Ultimate Universe version of the Prowler.
I actually predicted this was who Glover was playing, so it’s cool to be right! Plus, the Prowler is an interesting character in that he starts as a crook but becomes an ally of Spider-Man’s. Will we see Glover suit up in the costume? Fingers crossed!
Original article follows.
Back when Sony was rebooting the Spider-Man franchise into what would come to be The Amazing Spider-Man, one actor shined above all others for the role of Peter Parker: Donald Glover. The Community star had made it clear that he loved the character — even going so far as to incorporate Spider-Man themed clothing in some episodes of Community — and fans petitioned heavily for him to get the role. Considering how The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel turned out, it’s probably best for Glover that he didn’t get the job, but fans were so enamored with the idea that Glover eventually voiced Miles Morales in the animated series Ultimate Spider-Man.
Now it sounds like he’ll be entering the cinematic world of Spider-Man as well. Glover is in talks to be part of Spider-Man: Homecoming, the joint venture from Sony Pictures and Marvel. The details of his character are being kept under wraps, but it’s fair to assume that Glover won’t be one of Peter’s high school chums. Hopefully, Glover isn’t playing some glorified cameo or inconsequential role and is someone we can expect to see in future Spider-Man films.
Seeing as how Spider-Man 3 whiffed the first cinematic take on Eddie Brock (mostly due to the character being shoved into the film against director Sam Raimi’s will), Glover could bring something truly unique to the role of Venom. The character is much more of an anti-hero than the archvillain he’s usually portrayed as, and it’d be cool to see a Venom who hates Spider-Man but begrudgingly becomes his ally to stop a greater threat. Or if the film wants to take advantage of Glover’s fantastic comedic chops, he’d be a radical choice for J. Jonah Jameson. Whoever lands that role is going to have a tough time following J.K. Simmons’ pitch-perfect performance in the Raimi trilogy, but Glover is one of the funniest actors working today and could be a revelation with the right direction and script.
Regardless of who he ends up playing, any more Donald Glover in our lives is a good thing. Spider-Man: Homecoming is shaping up to be something really special, and the anticipation is already becoming maddening. Between this news and the announcement of a new Spider-Man game at E3, it’s a good day to be a wall-crawling webhead.
