'Community' Star Donald Glover: Set to Play Miles Morales in 'Ultimate Spider-Man'
From comedic star on NBC's "Community," making music, to comic book fanboy, Donald Glover is getting to live his dream as the "Ultimate Spider-Man."
Sadly, Glover will not get to don the Spider-Man suit and leap across giant movie set pieces. Instead, he will be voicing the young Spider-Man in the animated series "Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors."
It was announced this week that Glover will be voicing Miles Morales -- the half-Hispanic and half-black Spider hero -- in the animated Disney XD series "Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors." The Disney animated series is set to debut on its channel on Aug. 31 and on Sundays at 9 a.m. This might be a dream come true for Glover, as well as the fans who willed and started a social media campaign for Glover's role as Spider-Man.
The origin of "Ultimate Spider-Man" perhaps stemmed from Glover's character Troy on "Community," and the "#donald4spiderman" campaign. On "Community" in 2010, Glover had expressed interest in playing Spider-Man. One year later in 2011, Brian Michael Bendis re-introduced comic book readers across the globe to Marvel Comics' "Ultimate Spider-Man" series, Time reported.
It was during 2011 that Bendis got inspired to recreate it with an African-American character by the social media campaign "#donald4spiderman." The original series, with the title of the same name, was written by Bendis back in 2000. Bendis stated that he saw Glover's Twitter campaign and the outpouring by fans to play Spidey in a live-action film. Glover went so far as to dress in Spidey pajamas on "Community," USA Today reported.
In Disney's animated series Miles Morales is similar to the comic book version. In this comic book-to-animation adaptation, Miles is a 13-year-old boy who is getting used to his super powers and being a superhero. Miles then meets Peter Parker who has been travelling across dimensions. Parker has been dimension travelling in an attempt to stop the Green Goblin -- Spidey's No. 1 enemy -- from collecting DNA from various Spider-Men, USA Today reported.
From the campaign to action Glover is still pinching himself that he is Spider-Man. Glover, 30, says that it still has not hit him yet "how big of a deal" it is playing Spider-Man. Glover adds that he is also very grateful for the role, and it is even more cool to read Spider-Man now, USA Today reported.
As it is in the comic book so it is in this animated series, Peter Parker is dead in Miles' dimension so Miles has to take up the mantle of Spider-Man.
"He meets someone who is his hero, and that comes across completely in Donald's performance," Stephen Wacker, a former Spider-Man editor at Marvel Comics, said. Wacker is now vice president of Marvel Television's animation division.
"He's got a real warmth that suits the character really, really well," Wacker said about Glover's interpretation of the role. "If you've read Miles Morales comics, Donald's voice nails what you've been reading," USA Today reported. Wacker also adds that Miles and the original Spidey are cut from the same cloth.
"He's a kid you can root for, who you want good things for, who suffered some loss of his own, and we're seeing him come to terms with his new powers and how to use them," Wacker said.
Glover is a fanboy of Spider-Man. Glover says that he never liked Superman because he thought that the Kryptonian could not die. For Glover, Superman's story was too easy. Batman on the other hand was "pretty fly." Glover admits that Batman is "a close second, just because he doesn't really have powers. He's just a justice-driven vigilante."
"Spider-Man is the best because you just don't know who he is, and he's funny and he's poor. I understand Spider-Man a lot on that level. He's just trying to make it," Glover said.
You can click here for an exclusive clip from the Disney XD series "Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors."
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