It was announced recently by Deadline that Community star Donald Glover is joinging the first Spider-Man movie that will be part of the MCU in an unspecified role. Though, any Marvel fan worth their salt has a damn good idea who he may be playing. Yes, speculation is already running rampant that Glover will be playing the Ultimate Universe version of Spider-Man, Miles Morales. If that turns out to be true, that would mean that at some point, there will be more than one Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But how likely is it? Well, let's take a look at the possible evidence.
Glover has been circling Spider-Man for ages now. There was a massive fan campaign to get him to play the character back when Sony was in the process of doing their Amazing Spider-Man reboot. Glover was way behind the idea but ultimately it went to Andrew Garfield. In addition, he has been providing the voice for Miles Morales in the Ultimate Spider-Man animated TV series, so he already has a strong familiarity with the character.
For those who may not know, Miles Morales took up the Spider-Man mantle in the Ultimate Marvel Universe (which takes place outside of the main Marvel Comics Universe) following the death of Peter Parker. He is a young kid of African American and Hispanic descent and has powers similar to Parker's Spider-Man, but with some differences. The character first appeared in 2011 and quickly became a huge hit with fans and there has been demand to see him on the big screen pretty much from the get go.
Glover being cast is surely raising some flags in favor of Morales finally coming to the big screen, and his casting seems to really fit what Marvel seems to be doing with Spider-Man: Homecoming. So far, it seems to be a pretty diverse cast of both young and old and it looks like it won't be just a bunch of white people running around in Queens, New York. However, given Glover's history with the character of Mile Morales, it seems very unlikely that Marvel would ignore that entirely. They are smart.
Parker and Morales have met in the comics, so there is definitely precedent for the characters sharing some time fighting crime. Plus, Kevin Feige and Co. really need to find a way to make Homecoming and Spidey in general different enough to have us not feel fatigue from the various reboots the property has gone through in a relatively short period of time. Adding a second Spider-Man to the mix would be a way to do that and fans would be likely very excited about Morales joining up with The Avengers.
Lastly, if we are grasping at straws for evidence here, in the first season of Daredevil on Netflix, Foggy Nelson did make a reference to a “Morales” who worked at the law firm he and Matt Murdock worked at. There is almost no way that was a complete coincidence. The only glaring problem is that Glover is 32 and the character of Miles Morales is much younger, at least in the comic books. Perhaps Glover will be Miles' dad? Uncle? Both of whom play a role in the comics.
It seems like Miles Morales is an eventuality for the MCU, but we just don't know if he will ever share the screen with Peter Parker. Rumors are circulating that the 2018 Sony animated Spider-Man movie will feature Morales, but that has yet to be confirmed. If Marvel is building to a Sinister Six movie down the line, which evidence suggests they may be, than planting the seeds to have Parker and Morales take on Doc Ock and the gang together could be a really cool way to go with. We will have to wait and see when Spider-Man: Homecoming drops on July 7, 2017.