The new Spider-Man reboot from Sony and Marvel Studios has only just cast its lead character, with British actor Tom Holland taking the role of our new Peter Parker. Now just a week later, Peter’s got his Aunt May cast as well, and the person who’ll be playing her is going to be something of a shock to old-school fans: none other than Oscar winning actress Maria Tomei, best known for her roles in movies like My Cousin Vinny, The Wrestler and the upcoming comedy Trainwreck with Amy Schumer.
“But Marisa Tomei is way too young to play Aunt May!!” is probably being screamed by millions of comic book purists who are reading this news. After all, where’s the white hair? The one-foot-in-the-grave look?? Here’s the thing though: Marisa Tomeia is fifty. If Peter Parker is around fifteen or sixteen in this reboot, then it’s likely that his aunt would be around fifty, maybe even younger. The sad thing is, in the original 1962 comics, Aunt May was probably created to be around mid-fifties or maybe sixty by Stan Lee. Simply put, in the early sixties a woman was considered an ‘older lady’ pretty much past forty, and past fifty, well…you were just grandma age. It’s awful and it’s sexist (men didn’t have this issue) but that’s how it was. Maria Tomei simply reflects what we know fifty looks like today. Which is fabulous.
Although Aunt May will obviously have a big part in the upcoming Spider-Man reboot, The Hollywood Reporter hears that she’ll be making a cameo along with our new Spidey in Captain America: Civil War (which is why she was cast so early), so we’ll be getting our first glimpse of our new May Parker next May (appropriately enough) when Civil War hits theaters.
