How Old The MCU Spider-Man Cast Is Compared To Their Teenage Characters

:0:0

Summary

Despite still being older, Tom Holland is much closer to Peter Parker's movie age than previous Spider-Man actors.
The age gap between the actors and their teenage characters increased as more Spider-Man movies were developed in the MCU.
Angourie Rice was the closest in age to her character in Spider-Man: Homecoming compared to the other young cast members.

Tom Holland appeared as Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man, in Marvel Studios' Spider-Man: Homecoming, portraying a high school-aged character, though he and several of his MCU castmates were actually much older. Although Holland debuted as Spider-Man in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, joining Team Iron Man for the Avengers' battle, 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming marked his first solo project in the MCU. Holland went on to appear in two Spider-Man sequels, Far From Home and No Way Home (recently dubbed the MCU's Home Trilogy), as well as Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, with his journey now spanning seven years in the MCU, and Spider-Man 4 has been confirmed to be in development.
After joining the Avengers in their civil war in 2016, Spider-Man: Homecoming explored Peter Parker going back to high school and trying to balance his school, personal, and superhero lives. Homecoming's high school setting meant that the majority of the cast comprised younger actors portraying teenage characters, though as is the case with many high school-set movies, not many of the actors portraying these roles were actually the correct age. This age gap between actor and character only increased as Marvel Studios and Sony developed further Spider-Man movies in the MCU, and it could continue in the MCU's future in Spider-Man 4 and beyond.
Your browser does not support the video tag. 6 Tom Holland (20) as Peter Parker (15-16)

Taking over the role of Peter Parker from Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, Tom Holland was cast as the MCU's Spider-Man in June 2015, picked in part because of his closeness to Peter Parker's age. Both Maguire and Garfield had been significantly older than the teenage Spider-Man that they portrayed in Sony's films, so Holland's younger age was a huge draw, as well as his dance and gymnastics background. Holland filmed his scenes in Captain America: Civil War in July 2015 at 19 years of age, while filming on Spider-Man: Homecoming began a year later, with Holland then at 20 portraying Peter Parker in his sophomore year of high school.
This means that Tom Holland was 21 when Spider-Man: Homecoming released, portraying a 15-year-old Peter Parker, though he was presumably 16 at the end of the film as the academic year came to a close. Subsequently, Holland was 22 at the time of Spider-Man: Far From Home's filming, 23 when the film released in 2019, and 24 while filming Spider-Man: No Way Home, though 25 during the film's 2021 release. Far From Home took place during the summer between Parker's junior and senior year, placing him at 17, and No Way Home explored his final year of high school, with the tragic ending happening as he's 18.
5 Zendaya (19) as Michelle "MJ" Jones (15-16)

Zendaya was cast in Spider-Man: Homecoming in March 2016 as "Michelle." This was later revealed to be the MCU's adaptation of Marvel Comics' Mary Jane Watson, Peter Parker's long-running love interest. Zendaya is only three months younger than Tom Holland, born in September 1996, though since Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home were filming in June and July, respectively, this meant she was 19 while filming Homecoming, portraying MJ at 15-16-years-old, and 21 while filming Far From Home, while MJ was 17. Zendaya would have been 20 at the time of Homecoming's release, however, and 22 when Far From Home released.
Filming for Spider-Man: No Way Home began in October 2020, meaning Zendaya was 24 while battling alongside Tom Holland against multiversal villains and 25 when the film released in December 2021. This marked a similar age gap to Tom Holland and Peter Parker for Zendaya and MJ, as both actors were portraying 18-year-old characters while actually being seven years older. It's unclear what the future holds for Zendaya in the MCU, as the ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home left MJ with no memory of Peter Parker.
4 Jacob Batalon (19) as Ned Leeds (15-16)

Born only a month after Zendaya, Jacob Batalon was the same age as his co-star during the filming of each Spider-Man film. Batalon was announced to be portraying Ned Leeds at SDCC 2016, taking inspiration from Ganke Lee, Miles Morales' best friend in Marvel Comics, though adopting the name from Spider-Man villain the Hobgoblin. Batalon portrayed the 15-16-year-old Ned Leeds at the age of 19 in Homecoming, 17-year-old Ned at the age of 21 in Far From Home, and 17-18-year-old Ned at the age of 24 for Spider-Man: No Way Home.
3 Tony Revolori (20) as Flash Thompson (15-16)

Despite auditioning for the role of Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Tony Revolori was cast as Flash Thompson, one of Parker's classmates who bullies Peter while admiring Spider-Man. Revolori was the same age as Tom Holland during filming for all three solo Spider-Man projects in the MCU, 20 during Homecoming, 22 during Far From Home, and 24 during No Way Home, having been born only a couple of months prior to Holland. Flash was in the same graduating year as Peter Parker, MJ, and Ned Leeds, proven by his fast admittance into MIT during Spider-Man: No Way Home. It's unclear whether Revolori will return as Flash in future MCU projects.
2 Laura Harrier (26) as Liz Allan (17-18)

Laura Harrier only portrayed Liz Allan in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming, yet was the oldest actor to portray one of the film's teenage characters. Liz was in her senior year of high school during Homecoming, making her 17 or 18 years old, yet Laura Harrier was 26 when filming began on the project and 27 at the time of the film's release, marking an almost-ten-year age gap between Harrier and her character. This difference was practically unnoticeable throughout Homecoming, perhaps as most of the focus was on Peter Parker's budding romance with Liz and the reveal that she was, in fact, Adrian Toomes', a.k.a. the Vulture's, daughter.
1 Angourie Rice (15) as Betty Brant (15-16)

Born in January 2001, Angourie Rice was one of the youngest actors cast in Spider-Man: Homecoming, being only 15 years old when filming began in June 2016. This, however, made her the most accurate choice age-wise in Homecoming's cast, as she portrayed 15-16-year-old Betty Brant at the same age. This age gap grew larger in Far From Home and No Way Home, as Rice was 17 while filming Far From Home and 19 while filming No Way Home, though this only marked a one-year difference in Rice and Brant's ages. This makes Angourie Rice the closest in age to her character in Spider-Man: Homecoming compared to the other young cast members.
Key Release Dates