Casting Of Marisa Tomei Results To Criticisms From Comic Book Fans

The recent announcement of the possibility that Marisa Tomei will join the cast of the next Spider-Man movie as Aunt May drew criticisms from a number of comic book fans. Fans of the web-slinging superhero took to Twitter to protest the possible casting of the Oscar-winning actress as the elderly relative of Peter Parker in the latest version of the movie.

I am not okay with being sexually aroused by Peter Parker's Aunt May http://t.co/HWiihks1mo

— Jonathan Korman (@miniver) July 8, 2015

Aunt May is... Um, never thought I'd say this. But... Aunt May is kind of.... Someone say it for me dammit. pic.twitter.com/juRPvJqNYZ

— Superhero Feed (@SuperheroFeed) July 8, 2015

Some complaints indicated that the fifty-year-old Tomei is considered too attractive and too young to play the character. The character was previously played by Sally Field, who was 66 years old at that time, and Rosemary Harris, who is 74 years old. Other fans said the casting of the actress was the result of the negative attitude of Hollywood towards age.

Fans React To Casting Of Marisa Tomei - image credit: mashable.com

LOVE @marisatomei But seriously @Marvel?! Could we be more sexist & ageist? Aunt May looks like this. #Spiderman pic.twitter.com/2gkf5OhzeJ — DanaMAdams (@DanaMAdams) July 9, 2015

The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Marisa Tomei may become the new Aunt May in the upcoming movie. The actress is reportedly finalizing negotiations for her possible role in the movie. She will be cast together with Tom Holland, who will play Spider-Man. Holland is the youngest actor to play the role of the superhero at 19 years old. The movie will be under the direction of John Watts of Clown fame. The movie will be the first part of an expanded Marvel cinematic universe.

Aunt May was usually too old in the comics to be Peter's real aunt (Great-Aunt, yes). Marisa Tomei would be the right age in reality.

— Blue Coyote (@1031Arctic) July 8, 2015

The original Spider-Man comic book generally portrayed May Parker as a grey-haired, elderly pensioner and widow of Ben Parker. She acts as the moral compass of Spider-Man and is among the reasons why he keeps his identity a secret. But, a number of iterations on television and comic books have modified the character to make her into a younger woman who participates in some of the adventures of Peter Parker. The Ultimate Marvel version of Aunt May depicts an independent and strong woman in her late forties.

“@BiatchPack: Love Marissa Tomei- just seeing her cast as Aunt May is weird. I want to see her in bigger, lead roles” exactly. Me too!

— Marquette Jones (@Marquette_Jones) July 8, 2015

A number of Twitter users said a middle-aged Aunt May is logical for the next movie since it brings Spider-Man back into high school. Reports have indicated that Marisa Tomei will make her first appearance as Aunt May with Holland as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War.

Posted by Kade Quinn on Thursday July 09 2015, 3:40 PM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Entertainment. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0