It used to be that studios spent vast amounts of resources and publicity getting the news out about the latest actors cast in upcoming films. There were press conferences, phone calls - and later emails were introduced. Now, whether it’s due to laziness, convenience or perhaps both, cast announcements are now being made via Twitter.

Such is the case with the newest addition to the Marvel movie pantheon. Sony Pictures' twitter account just tweeted to the world:

“BREAKING NEWS: ANDREW GARFIELD CAST AS PETER PARKER IN NEXT SPIDER-MAN”

Yup, there's nothing like saying it in less than 140 characters.

Ever since Spider-Man 4 was delayed to the point that Sony decided to kick everyone off the project and go with the reboot option last year, speculation has been swirling around who would play Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Taylor Lautner, Jim Sturgess, Joseph-Gordon Levitt, Logan Lerman, Jamie Bell, and most recently Josh Hutcherson were all in the mix at one point to play the high school nerd turned superhero.

In an unscientific Screen Rant reader poll with over 500 votes, Andrew Garfield just edged out Alden Ehrenreich for 2nd to last place as the person people would most like want to see as Spider-Man, so of course that is the person Marc Webb and Sony Pictures choose – the front runner.

Garfield was pretty good in the mostly overlooked film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, and we’ll see what he is made of in the upcoming David Fincher film The Social Network where he plays Eduardo Saverin.  Director Marc Webb seems to be enthusiastic about the casting saying:

"Though his name may be new to many, those who know this young actor's work understand his extraordinary talents. He has a rare combination of intelligence, wit, and humanity."

Of course, Webb isn’t likely to say “we just made a really bad choice and I need a drink now” when commenting on casting decisions. I kid, of course. Garfield looks young and is quite charming - here's a video of him shot a year ago, after he received a BAFTA award:

It was previously stated that the new Spider-Man reboot was to go back to high school and would be darker and more brooding – you know, like Twilight but with webs. That means Parker will only be about 17 or 18 max for the first film - but Garfield is almost 28... well above high school age. Of course, using older people to play younger teen roles is nothing new. Just look at the cast of 21 Jump Street or Ralph Macchio, who was 23 when he played the 18 year old Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid.

The Spider-Man reboot is being directed by Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) and will be written by James Vanderbilt and Alvin Sargent (Spider-Man 2) and will have Laura Ziskin and Avi Arad serving as producers.

I made this prediction before but I’m making it again – Garfield will only have to play Peter Parker because Sony will go all “Na’vi” with Spider-Man, making him completely mocap CGI. With the film slated to be shot in the same style 3D as James Cameron’s Avatar, I don’t think my prediction is too out there.

What are your thoughts on Andrew Garfield being cast as Peter Parker/Spider-Man for the reboot?

[poll id="57"]

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Source: Sony Pictures, Heat Vision (thanks to Filmonic for finding that video)