With the recent Marvel acquisition of Spider Man for its Cinematic Universe, the rumors are swirling as to whom will play Peter Parker.
With the studio expected to go in a new direction, the fate of current Spider Man, Andrew Garfield, is in limbo. If that is indeed the case, who should take over?
One name that has gotten a lot of Marvel love recently is Zac Efron.
Early last year, reports surfaced that Efron was being eyed for a potential role in the MCU. Latino Review posted a story stating that Marvel had sent out an unidentified script to Efron for the actor to read. While nothing has come about since the report, the studio does seem to have some interest in Efron.
If they have expressed a desire for Efron in the past, it’s almost assured they still wish to work with him. It should come as no surprise that Disney wishes to bring in a familiar face for an iconic role. After all, Efron was the star of one it’s most successful franchises of all time, High School Musical.
We shouldn’t typecast Efron for his High School Musical films, because he has shown versatility to his work. You can argue Efron’s resume doesn’t lend itself well to a superhero film, however when Garfield was cast as Spiderman he was fresh off the heels of the 2010 drama The Social Network.
Garfield didn’t have the career resume Efron had at that point in his career. Efron had already been in two High School Musical films and starred in two big-budget films (17 Again and Hairspray) before Garfield got his first lead role in Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1980.
Many point to Efron’s age being a factor. The actor is only 27 years of age, which is four years younger than Garfield. The casting of Efron would give Marvel a fresh faced actor that has the youth and experience needed to be featured in numerous Marvel films.
While his career work might not be suited for the role of Peter Parker he is just as capable of handling the role as Garfield was. While the casting of Peter Parker will be a long process, you can’t count out Efron as a potential candidate.