Tom Holland is widely regarded as one of the best casting turnarounds in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In 2015, when the news broke that the Web-Slinger was finally joining Marvel, fans hadn’t even expected that they were getting an exceptional actor to fill the iconic role. A year after British actor Tom Holland debuted in Civil War, he was reprised in four Marvel movies, including three stand-alone.  However, if things had gone differently, another British actor would have helmed the role.

KJ Apa couldn’t knock the park with the Spider-Man tryout

KJ Apa
Tom Holland in the Spider-Man suit quickly won the audience’s love within a very brief period. His youthful charm and charisma brought a unique portrayal to the role. Out of all the numerous actors eyed for the iconic role, Riverdale actor KJ Apa revealed that he had auditioned for the role of the MCU’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man.

During the recently concluded San Diego Comic-Con, host Josh Horowitz sat down with the remaining members of Riverdale’s main cast from MTV News and asked if they had tried out for a superhero role.
Tom Holland as Spider-Man
Actress Camila Mendes confirmed that she was but didn’t reveal the character’s name, but Apa admitted that he auditioned for Marvel’s Spider-Man. When one of the co-stars inquired, “Did you sign an NDA?” He replied that he didn’t quite ace his Spider-Man audition.
“You know sometimes I walk out of NDA auditions; you know when you walk out and you feel really good about it, you feel like they loved it’? “I didn’t feel like that (laughing)”.

While he openly admitted he didn’t nail Spider-Man, his portrayal of the role would have entirely altered the character’s journey. Being a proven star through numerous movies and TV shows, we can’t just rule out the possibility of him landing in any superhero role in the future.

While Marvel dropped him DC took him; KJ Apa landed the Wonder Twins role

KJ Apa in Riverdale
Apa, before finding his big footing in the Hollywood arena, was cast as Archie Andrews in The CW’s adaptation of Archie Comics, where he has been deeply ingrained in show business since 2013.

He kicked off his career with a New Zealand soap opera, Shortland Steet, where he gained recognition for his portrayal of Kane Jenkins. Before his iconic role in Riverdale, Apa ventured into big-screen projects like 2017’s A Dog’s Purpose and The Last Summer and 2018’s The Hate U Give. 

Alongside his constant involvement in Riverdale, the $3 million- worth actor expanded his portfolio with projects like Alter Rock Still and I Believe You. Despite this success, before leading into the teen drama, he expressed interest in donning the Web-Slinger role.

DC’s Wonder Twins
Despite his setback with Marvel, Apa was recruited by DC to play their iconic role. Back in 2022, DC announced a new HBO Max live-action movie of Wonder Twins. KJ Apa and Isabel May were assigned to the roles of 1970s characters. However, due to various creative and studio differences, Warner Bros, a few months after the announcement, decided to cancel the project altogether, leading to the unfortunate stoppage.