With the young cast of the new Spider-Man primarily consisting of up-and-comers, producers continue to turn to established faces to play the adults: Coming not long after Martin Sheen signed on to play Uncle Ben (Sally Field is reportedly still a holdout as Aunt May), The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Denis Leary will play the role of police captain George Stacy, father to Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy, which means his wife must be genetically impeccable.
Anyway, in the comics, of course, George Stacy dies—caught in the crossfire of a battle between Spider-Man and Dr. Octopus, and causing Gwen Stacy to hate Spider-Man. The script is still being kept secret—and so far there’s been no indication that Dr. Octopus will even be a part of this story (the only confirmed villain is Rhys Ifans as The Lizard)—so it’s unclear whether Leary’s role in the new, nascent Spider-Man franchise will begin and end with this film. It is pretty clear, however, that Leary will draw heavily on his experience playing a police sergeant in the 1993 Ed Lover/Doctor Dre comedy Who’s The Man?.
