Emma Stone Cast in "Spider-Man," But NOT as Mary Jane Watson

Emma Stone is indeed going to be in the new Spider-Man film, but NOT as Mary Jane Watson. Huh? We've been talking about Stone joining Andrew Garfield in Spider-Man for some time now, but we always assumed it would be as Mary Jane Watson, Peter Parker's red-headed love interest. Well let me tell you something. Sony wants this next franchise to be completely different than the previous, starting with Stone's character.

Stone will play Gwen Stacy, who was previously portrayed by Dallas Bryce Howard in Spider-Man 3. She's the beautiful blond who goes to the same school as Peter. Another thing to note is that Stone is naturally blond. She dyed her hair red for Superbad and it just kind of stuck.

I like what they're doing at Sony. The first franchise was so big, so successful, it's going to take clever moves like this one to differentiate between the two franchises. If you read this blog, you know Emma Stone is my Hollywood crush, so I love the casting aspect of all this, but I'm more intrigued by the choice of character (Gwen Stacy as apposed to the obvious Mary Jane Watson). Either way, Sony just improved their chances of getting my 12 bucks at the theater. It will probably be 18 bucks by the time the movie comes out. Ooouf.

"With great power, comes great CASTING" Andrew Garfield IS Spider-Man

Tiny Update:  Here's what Webb had to say after I posted:
"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."

Marc Webb and Sony Pictures have been hard at work trying to find the right man for the new Spider-Man job.  It's a tough task if you ask me.  Casting the lead in a superhero franchise film is much harder than we could ever imagine.  Looks, acting chops, bankability, all the above must be taken into consideration.  So who will play Spider-Man in the new 3D version?  Andrew Garfield.

Bet you've never heard of him huh?  Well I have and I love his work.  He was fantastic in Boy, A and he was great in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.  Apparently he's been turning heads at Sony for awhile now.  His work in the upcoming The Social Network has Sony giddy in their boots, according to an article in the LA Times. 

I approve of the casting decision, because I believe Garfield will capture Peter Parker's sensibilities and vulnerabilities of being a high schooler with such great power.  The argument all day today is that he's too old (26) to play a high school kid.  I disagree.  I think he looks the part, and will bring out the emotion that Toby Maguire was so good at doing in the first trilogy.  Kudos to director Marc Webb and Sony for getting this one right!