The Case for Joe Keery as the Next Peter Parker
Joe Keery might not be the first actor who comes to mind when you think of Peter Parker, but the Stranger Things star actually has many of the qualities that make the character work.
Keery is best known for playing Steve Harrington on Stranger Things, a role that has allowed him to show off a surprisingly broad range. Steve can be cocky, immature and occasionally ridiculous, but he’s also funny, vulnerable, loyal and deeply caring. That combination makes Keery an intriguing choice for Peter Parker.
For starters, Keery has the awkward charm that Peter needs. Peter isn’t supposed to be effortlessly cool all the time. He’s often nervous, socially awkward and prone to saying the wrong thing at exactly the wrong moment. Keery has a natural ability to make characters feel slightly uncomfortable without making their awkwardness feel forced.
He’s also naturally funny, which is essential for Spider-Man. Peter’s sense of humor is one of his defining characteristics, particularly when he’s fighting villains. His jokes aren’t necessarily polished one-liners—often they’re sarcastic comments or nervous rambling in the middle of a dangerous situation. Keery’s comedic timing could translate extremely well to that version of the character.
But Peter Parker can’t just be funny. He also needs to feel like a genuinely good person, and that’s another area where Keery could shine.
One of the most appealing things about Steve Harrington is the way his bravado eventually gives way to genuine vulnerability and compassion. Keery has repeatedly shown that he can make an audience care about a character underneath the jokes. That’s crucial for Peter, because the audience needs to believe that his superhero identity comes from a sincere desire to protect people—not simply from wanting to be a superhero.
Keery could also bring something different to the role physically. He’s tall and athletic enough to be convincing as Spider-Man, but he still has a somewhat lanky, everyman quality that could help make Peter feel like a regular guy who happens to have superpowers.
His experience on Stranger Things is another advantage. Keery has spent years working within a massive genre franchise that requires its actors to balance comedy, action, romance and emotional drama. He’s already demonstrated that he can make audiences laugh one minute and take a character seriously the next.
Perhaps the biggest reason Keery makes sense as Peter, though, is Steve Harrington himself.
Steve initially comes across as a somewhat self-absorbed teenager, but over the course of Stranger Things, he becomes one of the show’s most beloved characters. Keery makes that evolution work because he understands how to play a character who is imperfect without making him unlikeable.
Peter Parker needs that exact balance. He can be impulsive, sarcastic, immature and occasionally frustrating, but underneath all of it, he has to be someone audiences desperately want to see succeed.
There is one obvious obstacle to this fan-casting: Keery is now too old to play the teenage Peter Parker we’ve already seen in the MCU. But that might actually make him more interesting for a different version of the character.
Rather than another high-school Peter, Keery could potentially play an older, more experienced Spider-Man—a Peter who is out of college, has already been fighting crime for years and is trying to balance being Spider-Man with the complications of adult life.
That’s a version of Peter the MCU has yet to explore extensively.
So no, Joe Keery probably isn’t the obvious choice to replace Tom Holland. But if Marvel ever wanted to introduce an older Peter Parker, an alternate-universe version of the character or eventually recast the role, Keery has already demonstrated many of the qualities that make Peter Parker so beloved.
He’s funny. He’s awkward. He’s charming. He’s emotionally vulnerable. And, most importantly, he knows how to make an imperfect character incredibly easy to root for.
If this resonated, follow Thought Catalog on Facebook and explore more stories on our website.
