When Access Hollywood reported that Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief star Logan Lerman was in talks for the lead role of Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, in the rebooted franchise, the news spread like wildfire.
The very next day, Lerman backpedaled on his previous comments about "looking into" the role and having "a few discussions" with the producers for the part, saying that he was just "hoping to be considered" along with "millions of actors out there." Sony, which owns the rights to the Spider-Man franchise, jumped into action almost immediately, issuing a statement that called into question nearly everything Lerman told Access Hollywood.
No offers have been made, nor have any business discussions been made with Lerman.
If Lerman's Spider-Man statements irked Sony, it's hard to tell from their very matter-of-fact statement, but they couldn't have been made at a worse time for 20th Century Fox. Lerman was in the midst of doing press for Fox's Percy Jackson when the rumor blew up, and the 18-year-old actor ended up fielding questions about Spider-Man in nearly every subsequent Percy Jackson interview.
Now, the "Lerman is Spider-Man" rumors are starting up all over again. In what is dubbed "exlusive news," Dan Deevy of TheCinemaSource claims that "inside sources" have confirmed to him that Lerman was actually in talks for the role of Spider-Man and that he will be the next Spider-Man.
One of the obvious obstacles to Lerman's participation in the Spider-Man reboot is the fact that he is already signed on to star in more Percy Jackson movies. The amount of time and energy needed to shoot and promote one franchise, let alone two, is considerable, which would seem to preclude Lerman as a choice for Spider-Man. However, given the lackluster box-office numbers of The Lightning Thief, Lerman may have some free time on his hands in the near future, opening the door for Spider-Man.
Posted 02.24.10 by BrentJS