Donald Glover may not get the chance to be Miles Morales on the big screen, but his role in Spider-Man: Homecoming could lay the foundation for his introduction. After voicing the character in Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors and following a campaign to play the web-slinger in live-action form prior to Andrew Garfield landing the job, things have almost come full circle for Glover. He joined the cast of Sony?s third Spider-Man franchise, but instead of playing the titular hero, his mysterious role appeared to be a minor one.
Ever since he joined, fans have speculated what Spidey related role he could?ve landed, with everyone still holding out hope for Miles. With his role finally being confirmed, that is not the case, but that doesn?t stop him from having major connections to the half-Latino, half-black hero.
The official cast list for Spider-Man: Homecoming has surfaced from the film?s press junket, where it confirmed that Glover plays Aaron Davis in the film. For comic fans, that name is associated with low-level criminal The Prowler. This character confirmation does not make it clear whether or not Glover will suit up in the purple, black, and green suit in the film, but does give him strong ties to Miles Morales since Aaron is Miles? uncle and instrumental in the youngster getting his powers.
In the comic world, both Aaron and Miles reign from the Earth-1610 universe ? making it different than the mainline Earth-616 universe and those stories. Aaron and Miles? father used to be partners in crime, but went their separate ways as their interests drifted apart. As Aaron continued his thieving, one of Oscorps? radioactive spiders hid within his bag, which was later exposed to Miles and is how he got his powers. Not only is he the one who is responsible for Miles becoming a hero, but he is ultimately killed in a battle with the young hero.
For the purposes of Homecoming, most, if not all of this story could go untouched. Based on the trailers and how Prowler has operated before in the comics, he will be part of The Tinkerer?s group that also consists of two versions of Shocker ? played by Logan Marshall-Green and Bokeem Woodbine ? and Scorpion (Michael Mando). Vulture (Michael Keaton) is also going to be part of this group, so Glover will largely be interacting with them presumably. However, this role could pay off big time down the road for Glover and give him an integral role moving forward in this universe.