Andrew Garfield Is the New Peter Parker in ‘Spider-Man’

After much talk and even more speculation as to the direction the “Spider-Man” franchise may take in the fourth film, at the beginning of this year, it was announced that the installment would not be made. As usual, things changed – and fans should now be happy to learn that a fourth movie is scheduled for theatrical release for 2012, with the role of Peter Parker going to British actor Andrew Garfield, E! Online says.

The name may not ring a bell with too many moviegoers, but Garfield is not exactly a newcomer in the industry. His resumé includes appearances in the critically successful “a Boy,” “Lions for Lambs,” “The Other Boleyn Girl” and Heath Ledger’s last film, “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.” Granted, he’s is not a name with too much resonance right now, but he has the talent (and the looks) to make Peter Parker a hit again, the movie studio is confident.

“We’ve got ourselves a new web-slinger. Relative newcomer Andrew Garfield has been cast as Peter Parker – and, consequently, Spider-Man – in Sony Picture’s upcoming reboot of the billion-dollar franchise. Even Garfield, 26, whose most significant screen time to date is in two films that haven’t come out yet, just got the news Thursday afternoon, a Sony rep said,” E! writes.

According to the e-zine, Garfield was in Cancun promoting his upcoming film, “Never Let Me Go,” based on the book of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro, where he stars opposite Keira Knightley, when he found out about the news at the same time that it went to press. According to the movie studio, choosing him for the part of Peter Parker, the much-loved geek who moonlights as a superhero with a heart of gold, came almost naturally.

“Though his name may be new to many, those who know this young actor’s work understand his extraordinary talents. He has a rare combination of intelligence, wit, and humanity. Mark my words, you will love Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker,” director Marc Webb says about the choice, as cited by E!. The fourth “Spider-Man” film, which is actually a reboot and not a sequel, starts shooting this December and will arrive in movie theaters on July 3, 2012 – meaning two years from now.

Until then, though, fans of the films can catch Garfield in other productions, just to make sure he has what it takes to pull the Peter Parker part off. As noted above, the actor will be seen in “Never Let Me Go” next, followed by “The Social Network,” the much-hyped film about how Facebook got started and the man behind it.