Columbia Pictures Tom Holland as Spider-Man.
Spider-Man: Homecoming has a large cast of characters, with the adults played by actors with years of experience behind them and a crop of young new stars playing the teens Peter Parker goes to high school with. Director Jon Watts, in just his third film as director, got to work with talent from all over Hollywood to give young Tom Holland a strong group to play off of. Read on to meet the main cast of one of this summer’s most anticipated blockbusters.
Homecoming is the fifth Spider-Man film Sony Pictures has produced since 2002, but it’s the first made with the help of Disney’s Marvel Studios. That means it’s part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man can finally fight alongside Captain America and Iron Man on the big screen. Holland made his debut as Spidey in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, starring in the action-packed airport sequence. The film also established the MCU Spidey’s close relationship with Tony Stark, so Robert Downey Jr. plays a key role in the new movie.
The film is the second of three MCU movies coming out in 2017. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 came out in May and Thor: Ragnarok hits theaters on November 3, 2017. All of these films are part of “Phase Three,” which kicked off with Civil War.
Now, here’s a look at the main cast of Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
Tom Holland as Spider-Man/Peter Parker.
Tom Holland made his MCU debut in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. Holland is 21 years old, but he’s playing Peter Parker as a 15-year-old high school student. He was born in London and shot to fame in 2008 when he appeared on the stage in Billy Elliot The Musical. In 2012, he starred in the drama The Impossible and worked with Ron Howard on In The Heart of the Sea. Homecoming is one of four 2017 films he appears in. The others are The Lost City of Z, Pilgrimage and The Current War. You can follow Holland on Instagram.
Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes/Vulture
GettyMichael Keaton plays the villain The Vulture, one of Spider-Man’s first enemies.
Michael Keaton is in the middle of a career Renaissance, having appeared in two consecutive Best Picture Oscar winners, 2014’s Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and 2015’s Spotlight. He finally earned his first Oscar nomination for playing Riggan Thomson, a former superhero actor desperate for a stage career, in Birdman. The role reflected Keaton’s own career, since he played Batman in Batman and Batman Returns. In Homecoming, he plays one of Spidey’s oldest villains, the Vulture.
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man
Columbia PicturesJon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland.
Robert Downey Jr. is one of the highest-paid actors in the world thanks to his performances as Tony Stark/Iron Man in the MCU. Homecoming is the eighth MCU movie he’s appeared in, and he’s signed to appear in the 2018 and 2019 Avengers movies. In fact, Downey hasn’t appeared in a non-Marvel movie since he starred in 2014’s The Judge with Robert Duvall. In Homecoming, the teacher-student bond Peter and Tony had in Civil War continues, as Tony teaches Peter the challenges of being a superhero. You can follow Downey on Instagram here.
Marisa Tomei as Aunt May
GettyOscar-winner Marisa Tomei stars as Aunt May.
At first, the 52-year-old Marisa Tomei‘s casting as Aunt May raised a few eyebrows, since the character has historically been drawn as a much-older woman. (Sally Field was 65 when she played the role in 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man and Rosemary Harris was 74 when she played the character in 2002’s Spider-Man.) Of course, if Peter is only supposed to be 15 in the MCU, it’s possible for him to have an aunt in her early 50s. Tomei, who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for 1992’s My Cousin Vinny, first appeared as Aunt May in Civil War. Her other recent films include Trainwreck, Love the Coopers and The Big Short. Tomei’s official Instagram page can be found here.
Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan
GettyJon Favreau plays Tony Stark’s driver, Happy Hogan.
Jon Favreau directed the first two Iron Man movies and has appeared as an actor in the MCU as Happy Hogan, Tony Stark’s driver. Favreau also directed Downey in 2014’s Chef and helmed Disney’s wildly successful The Jungle Book remake. His other films as director include Made, the holiday classic Elf, Zathura and Cowboys & Aliens. He’s also helming Disney’s remake of The Lion King, which will be made in the style of 2016’s The Jungle Book. You can follow Favreau on Instagram.
Zendaya as Michelle “MJ” Jones
GettyDisney Channel star Zendaya plays Michelle “MJ” Jones.
The 20-year-old Zendaya, whose full name is Zendaya Mariee Stoermer Coleman, plays Peter’s classmate, Michelle Jones. She’s not the film’s version of Mary Jane Watson, but is still nicknamed “MJ” by her friends. Zendaya is a former Disney Channel star, playing Rocky Blue in Shake It Up. She’s also recorded an album and singles for Disney’s Hollywood Records. She also co-stars in The Greatest Showman with Hugh Jackman. You can follow Zendaya on Instagram.
Donald Glover as Aaron Davis
GettyDonald Glover a.k.a. Childish Gambino plays Aaron Davis.
Donald Glover’s role was kept a mystery for as long as Marvel and Sony could keep it. He plays Aaron Davis, a criminal who is the uncle of Miles Morales, the “Ultimate Marvel” universe Spider-Man. Morales was later introduced in the main Marvel universe thanks to the popularity of the character and fans really wanted Glover to play the role. Glover, whose best known for Community and Atlanta, did voice Morales in two episodes of the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series. Glover also performs as rapper Childish Gambino. He does have an Instagram page, but has yet to post anything there.
Tyne Daly as Anne Marie Hoag
GettyTyne Daly plays the head of Damage Control.
Tyne Daly plays Anne Marie Hoag, who leads the Stark-owned U.S. Department of Damage Control. It’s their job to clean up the messes left behind by superheroes. Daly is an Emmy winner for her TV roles on Judging Amy, Christy and Cagney & Lacey. More recently, she appeared in Hello, My Name Is Doris with Sally Field, Looking: The Movie, Modern Family and Burn Notice.
Jacob Batalon as Ned
Jacob Batalon plays Peter’s friend Ned.
Jacob Batalon is a newcomer, having only appeared in a handful of projects. He made his acting debut in the low-budget horror movie North Woods. You can follow him on Instagram. In the film, he plays Ned, Peter’s best friend. As we’ve learned from trailers, Peter lets Ned in on the biggest secret of his life: that he’s Spider-Man.
The Rest of the Cast
GettyDirector Jon Watts with Marisa Tomei, Jacob Batalon, Tom Holland and Laura Harrier.
Laura Harrier as Liz Toomes
Tony Revolori as Flash Thompson
Bokeem Woodbine as Herman Schultz/The Shocker
Logan Marshall-green as Jackson “Montana” Brice/The Shocker
Michael Chernus as Phineas Mason/Tinkerer
Kenneth Choi as Principal Mortita
Hannibal Burress as Coach Wilson
Martin Starr as Mr. Harrington
Selenis Leyvas Ms. Warren
Michael Mando as Mac Gargan
Garcelle Beauvais as Doris Toomes
Stan Lee as Gary
Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts
Jennifer Connelly as K.A.R.E.N.
Kerry Conton as F.R.I.D.A.Y.