Spider-Man remains a white guy named Peter Parker in Sony’s upcoming live-action movie, but that won’t be the case in the animated film due out in 2018. Miles Morales—the half-black, half-Latino hero introduced back in 2011—will be the star of the still-untitled project being executive produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, Sony Animation announced yesterday.
The idea of getting a non-white Spidey on the big screen has been building momentum among fans for some time now. Miles was created for the Ultimate Marvel universe after writer Brian Michael Bendis was inspired by Donald Glover’s campaign to take on the role in The Amazing Spider-Man. In 2015, the character officially adopted the Spider-Man moniker. But even as the world of the comics diversified, the big-screen Spider-Man remained the same as always when Tom Holland joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the webslinger. Now Morales is getting his due, at least in an animated film.
Glover, who has an unspecified part in Spider-Man: Homecoming, has voiced Miles on television for Ultimate Spider-Man, but casting for the new movie has not yet been announced. Lord is writing it, while Bob Persichetti is directing.