Throughout the recent years, MCU fans have been itching to see Miles Morales join the superhero cast in a live-action format. The desire to see Morales in the MCU dates from Captain America: Civil War (2016) when fans were creating their own trailers, replacing Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, hoping he would be added to the many multiverse characters that appeared in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).
Updated Oct. 20th, 2022: To keep the content fresh and relevant, we’ve updated this article with more candidates for the role of a young Spider-Man.
Even Holland himself wants Miles Morales to take over the MCU’s Spider-Man franchise. And yet, there have been no formal announcements as of now about any of that happening except mere fan theories. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) fueled excitement by introducing an animated version of the beloved character, which can only continue with the anticipated sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Part One (2023). As expectations and impatience grows bigger, let’s look at possible candidates for the role of live-action Miles Morales.
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Shameik Moore
Netflix
Shameik Moore is a familiar name for MCU fans. The voice of Miles Morales in the animated superhero film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and its upcoming sequels, this American actor and rapper is one of the most obvious choices for playing the role. It would tie Sony Animation’s Spider-Man with the MCU’s Spider-Man franchise. The only issue is Moore’s age. At 26, he might not pull off being the teen character who is beloved by many comic book fans.
Dallas Dupree Young
Young American actor Dallas Dupree Young is no stranger to the action-comedy formula, something that Marvel Studios uses a lot in their movies. He plays a major protagonist-turned-major antagonist in the Netflix martial arts comedy-drama series Cobra Kai. With additional roles in the Nickelodeon sitcom Cousins for Life and the family drama TV series The Fosters, Young is a great candidate for the role of live-action Miles Morales. He turns 16 in 2022, which also plays in his favor.
Jharrel Jerome
Jharrel Jerome is an American actor and a rapper born in 1997 to an Afro-Latino family. A young actor who should be more appreciated, he is best known for his Primetime Emmy Award-winning performance as Korey Wise in When They See Us, telling a true story of falsely accused young boys due to racial profiling. Jerome also starred in the critically acclaimed coming-of-age drama Moonlight, where he portrayed teen Kevin (Chiron’s love interest).
His other projects worth mentioning are the American drama film Selah And the Spades and an American western drama Concrete Cowboy. Given the fact that Jerome is an Afro Latino and lives in the NYC just like Miles Morales, he would almost be the perfect choice for the role. He is a bit too old for the role now, so if they ever go for an older version, the MCU would nail their casting.
Miles Brown
ABC
Miles Brown is a 17-year-old American actor, best known for his role in the ABC comedy series Black-ish. After his selfie with Tom Holland and Zendaya, Brown got immediately fan-cast as Miles Morales. Many are finding interesting similarities between the animated character and the actor. Even the actor himself admitted on The Ellen Show that his dream is to become the next Spider-Man. If the MCU wants to get it right with the casting choices, here they have an actor of Miles Morales’ ethnicity and a similar age. There’s no doubt that if they ever decide to make a live-action Morales movie, Brown is going to audition.
Alfred Enoch
Although Alfred Enoch’s age doesn’t really fit into Miles Morales’s category, we still wanted to include him. The British-Brazilian actor is best known for his role of Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter series and as Wes Gibbins in the popular ABC legal drama series How To Get Away With Murder. Many fans have agreed that if the MCU decided to make an adult version of Miles Morales, Enoch would be an amazing choice for the role.
Jaden Smith
23-year-old American rapper and actor Jaden Smith started acting alongside his father Will Smith in movies such as The Pursuit of Happyness and After Earth. He is best known for his role in Karate Kid and The Day The Earth Stood Still. Smith took a break from acting for approximately seven years to fully focus on his music, only to return in 2017 when he starred in the Netflix original The Get Down. There have been many rumors already that Smith may have been considered/cast for the live-action role of Miles Morales. We wouldn’t be surprised if that turned out to be true, considering he’s already recorded official songs for the soundtrack of Into The Spider-Verse.
In addition, Will Smith encouraged speculation on Jaden Smith’s MCU casting. “My son is preparing himself physically and mentally to get a place as one of the characters who will make history for the first time in the saga of a movie that many already know and ask for,” he said in a statement reported by POPTime.
RJ Cyler
RJ Cyler is an American actor known for multiple iconic roles. He has starred in movies such as Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015), Power Rangers (2017), and Emergency (2022). He has also starred in The Harder They Fall, which is one of the few Western movies starring an all-Black cast. Cyler is also known for his television work in the Showtime series I’m Dying Up Here and Scream: Resurrection. A lot of people have fan-cast RJ Cyler as the perfect Miles Morales. They especially highlight his likable character and a wonderful smile that is so signature of Morales.
Rhenzy Feliz
Hulu
Born in the Bronx and of Dominican descent, Rhenzy Feliz is best known for his role of Alex Wilder in Marvel’s Runaways and as Camilo Madrigal in Encanto. Many argue that despite having only a few lines in Encanto, Camilo’s voice actor killed it in the best way and deserves to have a singing career and many albums. Most of Feliz’s mentions on Twitter are people suggesting him as live-action Miles Morales, and we’re honestly here for it. The actor deserves more recognition, and playing Morales would give him an opportunity to showcase his acting skills on a bigger scale.
Justice Smith
HBO Max
Justice Smith is an American actor best known for his role as Franklin Webb in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Tim Goodman in Detective Pikachu and as Chester in the HBO Max series Genera+tion. From the moment Smith comes on screen in Detective Pikachu, you can’t help but see the undeniable resemblance between him and Miles Morales. The only objection people seem to have is that he appears to be too old for the role. Just as with the aforementioned actors, if they ever decide to portray Miles Morales in his 20s, Smith would be the ideal pick.
Caleb McLaughlin
Caleb McLaughlin is famous for his role of Lucas Sinclair in the Netflix series Stranger Things. He has also previously performed on the Broadway stage as Young Simba in The Lion King and made his movie debut in Concrete Cowboy. Many argue that McLaughlin is indeed the real-life Miles Morales, often pointing out how even the resemblance in their outfits is truly uncanny. McLaughlin will soon be busy with promoting season four of Stranger Things as it comes out May 2022. We’re excited to see what the future holds for the actor and secretly hope that he’s going to be considered for the role of Miles Morales.
