You might have heard that Sony Pictures is revamping the Spider-Man movie franchise. Considering how awful that third movie was, they might as well. Scrap the whole thing and start over. But who will play the new, improved webslinger? Is it possible... we could have a black Peter Parker?
If thousands of Twitter users get their way, the next Spider-Man will be played by Donald Glover, best known for his role on NBC's Community. And yes, he's not white: Twitter Campaign Wants 'Community' Actor to Be First Non-White Spider-Man.
The campaign apparently got started on the sci-fi site io9.com, and is gaining a lot of steam. I say why the hell not. That would be kind of awesome, wouldn't it? After decades of Hollywood whitewashing, a classic character gets the race switcheroo -- the other way.
Honestly, as fun as this would be to see, I don't think it has much chance of happening. They're much more likely to hand the role to Zac Efron or some fool. Hollywood... taking risks? Ha! Don't make me laugh. Never.
That said, since we're talking about alternative casting, how about an Asian kid for Peter Parker? Think about it: Peter was originally conceived as an awkward, geeky teen, with a strong knack for science. Asian Peter Parker! Or Peter Park. I cast my vote for Justin Chon. Hey, we can dream.
UPDATE: I'm aware that there has actually been an Indian version of Spider-Man, published by Gotham Entertainment Group in 2004. Peter Parker was Pavitr Prabhakar and Mary Jane Watson became Meera Jain. I never read it, but it sounded pretty cool.
Then, of course, there's Japanese Spider-Man. This is a totally real live-action television series produced by Toei Company in 1978. It doesn't make much sense, but it's rather awesome. Watch episode one here.
