‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Casts Michael Barbieri as Peter Parker’s Best Friend; Robert Downey Jr. Jokes about Iron Man-Aunt May Relationship Plot Twist

‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ is set to feature Michael Barbieri as Peter Parker’s best friend. Barbieri joins Tom Holland, Marissa Tomei, and Robert Downey Jr. in the new cast. Meanwhile, Downey Jr. joked about a possible Iron Man-Aunt May relationship plot twist.

According to Collider, Barbieri is in negotiations to play one of Peter Parker’s friends. Although his identity remains unconfirmed as of the present, it was rumored that he is set to portray a character named Ganke.

Ganke was not Peter Parker’s best friend in the original ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ line of comic books. In fact, he was the most trusted confidante and best friend of another Spider-Man, Miles Morales. It is possible that another version of Ganke would be adapted on the big screen so as to fit in with Peter Parker’s storyline.

Barbieri joins an ever-growing cast including Tom Holland as Peter Parker a.k.a. Spider-Man, Marissa Tomei as Aunt May, Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man, Tony Revolori as Manuel, and Zendaya as Michelle.

According to Comicbook.com, principal photography is scheduled to commence this summer under Jon Watts’ direction. ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ marks Holland’s very own standalone film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) after being introduced in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ as the masked web slinger.

Downey Jr. is returning to play Iron Man. His character’s relationship with Spider-Man was established back in the ‘Captain America’ film after he recruited Peter to join his team of superheroes in defeating Cap’s own band of allies.

The 51-year old took to his Facebook account to poke some fun on his upcoming appearance in the film by posting a comic book image featuring superimposed Iron Man and Aunt May in bed while Peter barges in. According to Cinema Blend, the parody builds on the flirtation between the two in ‘Captain America’. A looming romance between Iron Man and Aunt May has not been confirmed but it would be interesting to see how a storyline with a much younger Aunt May will play out.

Downey Jr.’s post also seems to be a playful nudge to then co-star Tomei, who he worked with in the hit romantic comedy ‘Only You’ back in the 1990s.

‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ is an upcoming action-adventure and fantasy film based on the Marvel comic book character of the same name. It is produced by Amy Pascal and Kevin Feig and is co-produced by Eric Hauserman-Carroll with Stan Lee and Matthew Tolmach serving as executive producers. It is scheduled to premiere in the United States on July 7, 2017.

The film marks the first in a collaborative rights deal between Sony Pictures Entertainment and Marvel Studios, where Sony produces the character’s solo films while Marvel is free to use the character for any of its movies in the MCU.

The rights to Spider-Man were secured by Sony, who then hired director Sam Raimi to create three films starring Tobey Maguire in the early 2000s. Sony then hired Marc Web to reboot the franchise in 2012 with the ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ series starring Andrew Garfield.