Updated: Hot on the heels of the Sheen/Uncle Ben casting, comes word from The Hollywood Reporter that Sally Fields is in early talks to play Aunt May - the bigger part of the two.
Martin Sheen is a wonderful actor. I've been watching The Departed tonight as I've been typing up my work and I forgot how truly great he was in that movie. All the humanity of that flick is with his performance and I'll never forget the gasp at my screening when he so cruelly got chucked out of that window. As great as he is though, he'll never out-do Cliff Robertson's portrayal of Uncle Ben in the original Spider-Man movie, just as no actor will be able to outdo JK Simmons as J Jonah Jameson when that role is re-cast. I appreciate the hiring of Sheen in any film but he's fighting a losing battle here. I don't want to see Uncle Ben die again, I don't need to see him and Peter Parker fall out. The pain on Robertson's face when Peter tells him to stop acting like his father is one of the most emotional lines in the film. And of course the famous 'With great power comes great responsibility', that's done, it's over. They are making a mistake by bringing the character back.Sheen of course plays that old-fashioned respectful blue collar type- guys like a pro (remember him in Wall Street?) but Robertson will forever be my Uncle Ben, simply because when I first saw Spider-Man ten years ago, he felt like the guy I knew from when I read the comics a decade earlier. The still untitled Spider-Man reboot at Sony films in the winter for a July 2012 release. It'll be directed by Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) with this cast; Andrew Garfield (as Spider-Man), Emma Stone (Gwen Stacy), Rhys Ifans (as Curt Connors/The Lizard) and now Martin Sheen (Uncle Ben). Hunt continues for an Aunt May, J Jonah Jameson and presumably Mary Jane Watson and Harry & Norman Osbourne.