Rising young star, Bella Ramsey, recently mentioned to Variety’s Marc Malkin that they “could be Spider-Man.” To be fair to Ramsey, it appears to have been little more than an off-the-dome, throwaway quip. The interviewer and subject were discussing possible future projects, and Ramsey first offered up that they’d like to do a heist movie with Pedro Pascal. Ramsey and Pascal both came to fame in breakout roles via the juggernaut that was Game of Thrones (though they never shared the screen), and they’ve now cemented their status as TV stars as Joel and Ellie in The Last of Us.
Malkin asked if Ramsey was interested in being part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, given that Pascal’s latest gig is as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic in this summer’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps. After suggesting they’d like to play Spider-Man, Ramsey went on to compliment Tom Holland’s work as the webslinger and to explain that they’ve never really watched a Marvel movie, save for Andrew Garfield’s The Amazing Spider-Man. “So maybe they do need to make a new [superhero] for me,” Ramsey said. It’s unclear whether they meant a new take on Spider-Man or a new superhero altogether.
Out of context, Ramsey’s comments about playing Spider-Man will be misinterpreted, overblown, and used to generate outrage. But even if they were merely making conversation, we shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the idea of a Ramsey Spidey. Here’s why.
Yes, Casting Ramsey as Spider-Man Would Be Risky
There’s no way around it: if Bella Ramsey ever becomes Spider-Man, it will alienate a segment of the public, no matter how good the film or series turns out to be. We live and consume media in a time in which, after years of improved representation in movies and on TV, so-called woke casting regularly inspires backlash. Sometimes that backlash affects the profits of a completed project, and sometimes it even prevents a project from being made a certain way in the first place. Just look at the rage that was generated online about a Black Ariel or a part-Columbian Snow White. An even better comparison might be the buzzed-about potential casting of Hunter Schafer as Princess Zelda in the upcoming Nintendo/Sony film. Fans pointed out that Schafer is a dead ringer for the legendary video game character. She not only has an impressive resume that includes Euphoria and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, but she also expressed interest in the role.
Producers ultimately decided on younger and less well-known actors for their Link and Zelda, but it’s easy to imagine that Schafer, a trans woman, was passed over for fear of controversy. While there will always be some hostility towards the idea of trans actors in cisgender roles, there seems to be a special kind of furor reserved for trans actors who might dare to play iconic characters.
However, of all the iconic characters who could be filled by a non-binary actor, Spider-Man is probably the most fitting. His co-creator, Stan Lee, said of the superhero, “What I like about the costume is that anybody reading Spider-Man in any part of the world can imagine that they themselves are under the costume. And that’s a good thing.” Sure, Peter Parker is the Spider-Man that comes to mind for most people, but fans have also geeked out over Miles Morales, Ben Reilly, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Punk, and Spider-Ham. Theirs would almost certainly be a more niche production than Holland’s tenure in the MCU, but if all of them can wear the mask, so can Ramsey.
In the Right Spider Project, Ramsey Could Shine
Another potential obstacle to casting Ramsey as Spider-Man is that they haven’t necessarily won over skeptics as Ellie in The Last of Us. Again, some of the debate about their performance has to do with prejudice against Ramsey’s public status as a non-binary actor, or the fact that they don’t physically resemble the character from the source material. But some fans of the video game feel that their depiction of Ellie is too young and bratty compared to the more hardened and emotional Ellie from the Naughty Dog version of the story. The HBO show is somewhat loosely adapting the game, especially with the departure of co-creator Neil Druckmann, but still, that’s a fair complaint. It doesn’t, however, mean that Ramsey is an unskilled actor — a difference in interpretation doesn’t indicate a lack of talent — and it definitely doesn’t disqualify them from playing Spider-Man.
Spidey is a plucky teenager… maybe even the plucky teenager. The character’s whole deal is that they create their own persona and slink off to fight evil, often lying to authority figures in the process. That pretty much describes Ramsey’s Ellie. And, in their appearances on Game of Thrones and in the underrated Catherine Called Birdy, Ramsey has shown they have the charisma, confidence, and combat skills needed to fill Spider-Man’s shoes. But most importantly, Spider-Man is our friendly neighborhood superhero. He fights the street-level ills within our world. At a time when trans and non-binary people are being vilified and scapegoated, they could use one of their own in the supersuit.
