With production expected to begin next month, Sony is hard at work locking down its principal cast for the 3D reboot of the Spider-Man franchise. This new take on Spider-Man will focus on Peter Parker's days in college and will explore his relationship with Gwen Stacy while also touching on his earlier years when he was a young child when his parents were alive.

Andrew Garfield will be playing the title character and joining him so far are Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy and Rhys Ifans as The Lizard, with Martin Sheen and Sally Field reportedly in talks to play Parker's aunt and uncle. Now comes word that Gwen Stacy's dad is about to be cast...

The Hollywood Reporter has the exclusive scoop that Rescue Me star Denis Leary is currently in negotiations to play the character of George Stacy opposite Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy. George is the father of Gwen and a captain of the police and in the books, his character crosses paths with Spider-Man on many occasions and is known for being a defender of his cause. At least, that's his character in the mainstream Marvel Comics universe.

In the Ultimate Marvel Comics however, George Stacy is a younger man who's not fond of Spidey but digs his vigilante style. The one key story point that sticks in both universes is that Mr. Stacy dies at the hands of Spider-Man''s villains so that could be an emotional trigger for Gwen in the film, should the script follow a similar path.

Since we know Mary Jane will not be a character featured in Marc Webb's Spider-Man reboot, this lets the story focus on only one love interest of Peter Parker and delve deeper into her character and relationships, an opportunity not taken advantage of previously in the Sam Raimi-Tobey Maguire Spider-Man trilogy where Bryce Dallas Howard and James Cromwell played Gwen and George respectively.

I applaud Webb and Sony Pictures for continuing to think out of the box in adding another unexpected but likable actor to the growing Spider-Man cast.

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Spider-Man is directed by Marc Webb and written by James Vanderbilt. Filming starts in December and the film will be released in 3D on July 3, 2012.

Source: THR