Hit Fix is reporting Logan Lerman, star of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, is the “clear frontrunner” to play Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the upcoming Spider-Man reboot to be directed by 500 Days of Summer helmer Marc Webb. Lerman’s name has been rumored for the part almost since the reboot was announced and he apparently beat out the likes of Anton Yelchin, Jesse Eisenberg, Patrick Fugit and Johnny Simmons to secure the role. I am sure confirmation of this report will arrive in the trades or over at Nikki Finke’s Deadline, but the Hit Fix report is confident enough to run with the story right now.
Reports say the new film will be even more family friendly than the original trilogy, which featured Tobey Maguire as Parker and was directed all three times by Sam Raimi. James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) penned the script which will place a high school-aged Peter Parker in a more contemporary setting, as a teenager grappling with normal teen problems while also dealing with his superpowers.
The film will begin production later this year for a July 3, 2012 release.
For further details on the demise of Spider-Man 4 and the story that shortly followed read my January 12, 2010 post here.
