Back in 2011, comedian and rapper Donald Glover lobbied the Internet to try and get him an audition for the lead in THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. While the role eventually went to Andrew Garfield, Marvel did create the character of Miles Morales, a multi-ethnic teen who takes over the superhero role from Peter Parker in the Ultimate comic run.
Now, in an interesting reverse casting, Donald Glover will get to portray Miles Morales in the upcoming season of Disney XD’s animated series ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN. Writer Brian Michael Bendis has been vocal in Glover’s Internet campaign having been part of the inspiration for Miles Morales and this seems the perfect bit of casting for the animated series.
Fans have been vocal in opposition to the changing of character ethnicities and genders in big screen reboots of beloved series, but with the recent Marvel news that Falcon would become the new Captain America and a female Thor taking over control of Mjolnir, it seems that the comic book world is finally catching up to the real world. It remains to be seen if Miles Morales will ever figure into a sequel to THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, but you can enjoy his adventures this fall on Disney XD.