Marvel Spider-Man Actor Casting Rumors 2015, Mateus Ward [Instagram Photos]: 16-Year-Old Auditioned For Peter Parker Role In Cinematic Universe Movies?

Ever since Fox and Marvel announced a co-venture to bring Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (alongside the Avengers in 2018's Infinity Wars, 2016's Captain America: Civil War, and a 2017 stand-alone film), casting rumors have been circling around young actors all over Hollywood. We've heard rumors about Dylan O'Brien, Freddie Highmore, and Logan Lerman, all of whom are in their early-to-mid-twenties, but some new speculation has us believing that the actor portraying Peter Parker will indeed be an appropriate age for high school. According to numerous reports, Marvel auditioned the relatively unknown, 16-year-old actor Mateus Ward for the coveted part. Do you think he's the next Spider-Man?

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According to Badass Digest (via IGN), Ward was not the only young actor to audition, but he is the frontrunner so far. His acting credits include roles on Showtime's Weeds, the TV miniseries Hostages and a current series regular spot on TNT's Murder in the First.

Considering the timeline of these films, is 16 actually not a good age for the next Spider-Man? According to Slash Film, he'll be 16 when he shoots his cameo in Civil War, 17 when he films his stand-alone movie directed by Drew Goddard, and 18 when he appears in the next Avengers film (Infinity Wars). Will this make him too old already to return for the sequel to the rebooted Spider-Man franchise? We'll push off these worrisome for now, until he actually gets cast!

Check out some photos from Mateus' Instagram account to see if he looks like the next Spider-Man to you:

A photo posted by Mateus Ward (@mateusward) on Jan 4, 2015 at 2:25pm PST

A photo posted by Mateus Ward (@mateusward) on Oct 30, 2014 at 1:09pm PDT

A photo posted by Mateus Ward (@mateusward) on Mar 10, 2015 at 4:49pm PDT

Spider-Man is set to appear via a cameo in the 2016 film, Captain America: Civil War, which is set to start filming in April of 2015. In other words, we should be very close to finding out who the next Spider-Man is, and if Ward stays as the frontrunner, it could easily be him!

Let us know what you think of this casting rumor in the comments section below!