Oscar-winning actress Marisa Tomei, 50, is said to be playing Aunt May in the next instalment of the "Spider-Man" franchise days after the news that she is joining the "Empire" season cast. The character is the aunt who raised Peter Parker to be played by Tom Holland.
Sources told Variety that Tomei was chosen to play Peter Parker's aunt but neither Marvel nor Sony has commented on the casting. The sources have added that an offer was made for her earlier in July to join Holland, who was recently handpicked to play Spider-Man but they could not specify the details of the deal-making process.
After months of meetings and screen tests with several young actors, Marvel and Sony tapped Holland to play the web-slinging superhero in the upcoming "Spider-Man" reboot to be directed by "Cop Car" director Jon Watts and produced by Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal.
Marvel and Sony are still looking for the writer who will join Watts in the screenwriting process for the "Spider-Man" reboot, which is set to be released on July 28, 2017.
Meanwhile, Tomei is set to play a recurring role described as a "demanding venture capitalist" named Mimi Whiteman who will become "involved in Lyon family drama" in "Empire" season 2, which will premiere on Sept. 23, Mashable reported.
Currently, Tomei is part of the cast of "Trainwreck," which stars Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Ryan Farrell, John Cena, Colin Quinn, Devin Fabry, John Segarra, Robert E. Torres, Bobby Kelly, Tilda Swinton, Randall Park, Vanessa Bayer, Brie Larson, Ezra Miller and Evan Brinkman, among others.