Director Marc Webb is currently casting for his anticipated sequel to this year's reboot
The Amazing Spider-Man, which begins filming early next year. Shailene Woodley (
The Descendants) has been cast as Mary Jane Watson, while Jamie Foxx (
Django Unchained) is in talks to play the villainous Electro. But the third major role, that of Peter Parker's best friend Harry Osborn, has taken a little longer to fill. Dane DeHaan, Sam Claflin, Brady Corbet, Alden Ehrenreich, Eddie Redmayne, Douglas Booth and Boyd Holbrook have all tested for the role. It was originally reported that Sony were looking at actors to play a "dark and edgy" Osborn, but a later report suggested that "more athletic and good looking" actors were being considered. Now, Webb has taken to his Twitter account to confirm that DeHaan has been cast as Harry in the upcoming film.
DeHaan first gained major success earlier this year with the found footage superhero film
Chronicle, before appearing in other movies such as
Lawless and
Lincoln. As for the rest of the film's cast, Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Sally Field are set to reprise their respective roles as Peter Parker, Gwen Stacy and Aunt May from the first film. It was recently reported that some filming will be taking place in London, and that production will commence sometime in February.
The Amazing Spider-Man sequel is scheduled to hit theaters May 2nd, 2014.
UPDATE: Sony just issued the following press release which also confirms Jamie Foxx's involvement.
Dane DeHaan will join the cast of the next installment of The Amazing Spider-Man™ along side Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx and Shailene Woodley as Columbia Pictures prepares to begin production on the next chapter of the blockbuster franchise, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad, president of Columbia Pictures, and Hannah Minghella, president of production for the studio.
The screenplay is by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci and Jeff Pinkner based on a previous draft by James Vanderbilt. The film will be directed by Marc Webb and produced by Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach.
The casting of DeHaan as Harry Osborn was confirmed this morning in a tweet by Webb (@MarcW) who wrote "Meet Harry Osborn. So excited to have him on board. @danedehaan."
"Dane is an exciting and extraordinary young actor and he is a fantastic addition to our cast," Webb said.
The new film in the Spider-Man saga is set for release in 3D on May 2, 2014. Production will begin in early 2013 in New York.
Webb, Garfield and Stone previously teamed on this summer’s blockbuster The Amazing Spider-Man, which has taken in more than $751 million worldwide.
DeHaan caught moviegoers’ attention with his performances in four 2012 releases: Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, opposite Daniel Day-Lewis and Lukas Haas; John Hillcoat’s Lawless, alongside Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, and Jason Clarke; Bradley Rust Gray’s Jack & Diane, with Juno Temple and Riley Keough; and one of the year’s biggest sleeper hits, the adventure thriller Chronicle, directed by Josh Trank. He began his film career with director John Sayles and actor Chris Cooper in Amigo.
DeHaan next stars in Place Beyond the Pines alongside Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling. In addition he will star in Atom Egoyan’s Devil’s Knot, with Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth, about the fate of the West Memphis Three; and John Krokidas’ Kill Your Darlings, with Jack Huston, Daniel Radcliffe, Ben Foster, and Kyra Sedgwick, set in 1944 amidst the Beat Generation.
Mr. DeHaan first came to industry attention with his portrayal of Jesse in the third season of the critically applauded drama series In Treatment, starring alongside Gabriel Byrne. This was followed by a guest arc in the fourth season of the popular horror series True Blood.
In 2010, he received an Obie Award for his performance in Annie Baker’s The Aliens, directed by Sam Gold. The Rattlestick Theater production was cited as “Play of the Year” by The New York Times. Mr. DeHaan made his Broadway debut in with American Buffalo, Robert Falls’ 2008 staging of the classic David Mamet play.