Marvel Replaces Marisa Tomei With New Aunt May In The Spider-Man Universe
Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May won’t be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward, for obvious reasons if you’ve seen Spider-Man: No Way Home, but she still could have theoretically played the character in the upcoming animated series Spider-Man: Freshman Year. However, the animated series takes place in an alternate universe from the MCU, which means that we have a new actor in the role of May Parker. An uncovered listing from the US Copyright Office reveals that the new actor will be Kari Wahlgren, who is known for her voice work in various projects like Rick and Morty, I Am Groot, and many more.
Kari Wahlgren will voice Aunt May in Marvel’s upcoming series Spider-Man: Freshman Year.
We also know what this version of Aunt May will look like thanks to a screenshot that Spider-Man: Freshman Year revealed at San Diego Comic-Con 2022. Based on the screenshot, it seems like Wahlgren’s version will be a little bit older than the younger version of Aunt May that Marisa Tomei portrayed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It appears that she won’t be much older, though, and will still be quite a bit younger than the version that Rosemary Harris played in the Sam Raimi films.
Marisa Tomei isn’t the only one being replaced in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Freshman Year series, as Hudson Thames will be taking over the Peter Parker role from Tom Holland. We will also get to see some new faces that haven’t appeared in the MCU yet, as Zeno Robinson will be playing Harry Osborn. Norman Osborn will also be a part of the series, replacing Tony Stark as the mentor figure that we saw in Tom Holland’s Spider-Man films.
Spider-Man: Freshman Year will take place in an alternate timeline, and it will depict Peter’s early years as Spider-Man.
Of course, we did see Norman Osborn in the MCU recently, though he wasn’t nearly as kind to Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May as this version appears to be in the screenshot from San Diego Comic-Con. Obviously, Marvel is keeping the major plot details of Spider-Man: Freshman Year under wraps for now, so it’ll be interesting to see if they make Norman the Green Goblin right away or if that will happen in a different season.
It would certainly be different from the MCU’s portrayal of the mentor-mentee relationship between Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and Tony Stark, as Tony never became a villain Spider-Man had to face.
The only real details we have about the animated Spider-Man: Freshman Year is that it will take place in an alternate timeline and that it will depict Peter’s early years as Spider-Man. This new universe approach does make the show especially interesting because it isn’t beholden to the story being told in the MCU, which is why characters like Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May, who is dead in the Marvel movies, can come back.
Marisa Tomei isn’t the only one being replaced in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Freshman Year series, as Hudson Thames will be taking over the Peter Parker role from Tom Holland.
Spider-Man: Freshman Year also will reportedly have appearances from Doctor Octopus and Doctor Strange, so it’ll be interesting to see what fresh takes they have on those characters. Like Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May, Marvel also recast these roles, with Hugh Dancy reportedly playing Doc Ock and Doctor Strange’s actor yet to be announced. You can check out Spider-Man: Freshman Year when it hits Disney+ in 2024.
