The MCU has a new Aunt May actress coming off the apparent end of Marisa Tomei's tenure.
Coming off a highly successful Spider-Man trilogy at Marvel Studios, the Hollywood giant has big plans for Marvel's wall-crawler going forward.
Tom Holland's take on the iconic webhead is headed for a fourth big-screen adventure set within the super-powered world, and a web-slinging animated series is on the way in Spider-Man: Freshman Year.
The animated Disney+ show will tackle an alternate universe Peter Parker as he is "on his way to becoming Spider-Man." That means characters who have not been introduced in the MCU prime will be prevalent, and familiar faces who may have died will be back in a whole new way.
Meet Marvel Studios' New Aunt May
Thanks to a recently uncovered listing with the US Copyright Office, fans finally know the name of Marvel Studios' new Aunt May actor.
The filling for Spider-Man: Freshman Year (the MCU's upcoming animated Spider-Man series) listed Kari Wahlgren as having been cast as Aunt May in the upcoming show.
Wahlgren takes over for Oscar-winner Marisa Tomei, whose take on the iconic Marvel character perished at the hand of Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Fans have actually gotten a first look at Wahlgren's version of May, as she was seen alongside Peter and - his mentor in Freshman Year's alternate universe - Norman Osborn in a screenshot released during San Diego Comic-Con 2022.
Kari Wahlgren joins the likes of Zeno Robinson (who will be playing Harry Osborn) and Hudson Thames (Peter Parker) as part of the wall-crawling cast.
Wahlgren is a prolific voice actor in Hollywood, having lent her talents to hits like Rick and Morty, My Adventures with Superman, and I Am Groot.
How Will This Aunt May Be Different?
At this point, audiences have nearly as many Aunt Mays as they have Spider-Men on the big and small screen. So, it is becoming harder and harder to differentiate one's take on such an iconic character as time goes on.
Well, Marvel Studios seems to have a ringer when it comes to that department.
The Hollywood giant proved with Marisa Tomei's version of the Marvel Comics personality that something new could still, in fact, be done with May, making her younger and eventually slotting her into the ill-fated Uncle Ben role.
It was a twist that fans mostly loved, and it is innovation like this that could make Walhberg's take just as unique in her own personal way.
Freshman Year is already twisting the MCU mythos on its head, by making Norman Osborn Peter's mentor instead of Tony Stark, so who is to say Aunt May couldn't be up for the same 'twist the narrative' treatment?
Judging from the one image fans have seen of the character, Freshman Year's May looks to be a little older than Tomei's take on the May, but not nearly as senior as the comic book original or Rosemary Harris' version from the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy.
The closest facsimile fans seemingly have to Walhberg's take is Sally Field’s portrayal seen in the Andrew Garfield Amazing Spider-Man duology.
Exactly how Wahlgren will differentiate herself from the lineage of Aunt Mays throughout history will have to wait until fans can finally get their hands on the animated series. However, there are at least breadcrumbs being laid for this to be an innovative new take on a character with more than 60 years of comics history.
Spider-Man: Freshman Year is rumored to debut on Disney+ sometime in late 2024.
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