‘Stranger Things’ Star Revisits Miles Morales Casting Hopes

Peter Parker is the original Spider-Man, played currently on the big screen by Tom Holland. But pretty much immediately after he was introduced in Marvel Comics back in 2011, Miles Morales became a staple version of the character who has a fandom all his own. The animated Spider-Verse movies made him a household name, and Kevin Feige — the man in charge of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — has openly said he wants Miles to appear in live-action.

But when that happens, who should play him? Stranger Things star Caleb McLaughlin has long been among the most popular choices when it comes to fan-casting Miles Morales, and McLaughlin himself seems to like the idea as much as anyone. “I would love to play Miles,” he told Variety at a screening of his new movie Goat. “I think Miles represents something bigger than myself; it represents something bigger than most people.”

McLaughlin even grew up in the Bronx, which gives him even more of a connection to Miles, who was born and raised in New York City. “Also, being from New York and then just seeing the Spider-Verse story, I just feel it’s really, really connected and I feel like a lot of people understand what that means,” the actor said.

Everybody Wants Caleb McLaughlin to Play Miles Morales. It’s Just a Matter of When.

It’s gotten to the point where McLauglin can’t even post a video of himself doing gymnastics (above) without people flooding the comment section with notes about how he’d be perfect to play Miles Morales. People have mocked up movie posters where McLaughlin’s Miles shares top billing with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker. He clearly seems like the fan favorite to play the role, and it’s reasonable to assume that folks like Kevin Feige have taken notice. That said, nothing official has been announced, so for now, we wait.

In the meantime, there will be plenty to satiate fans of Peter Parker, Miles Morales, and Caleb McLaughlin. The third and final Spider-Verse movie, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, is due out in theaters on June 18, 2027. Shameik Moore will continue to voice Miles. The next Peter Parker Spider-Man movie, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, will be out well before that, on July 31, 2026.

And if you want to see McLaughlin show off his talents, Goat opens next weekend, on Friday, February 13. It’s an animated movie about a young goat named Will Harris, played by McLaughlin, who gets a chance to play professional roarball, which is kind of like basketball if it were played by talking animals. The voice cast also features Gabrielle Union, Jennifer Hudson, Nick Kroll, McLaughlin’s Stranger Things costar David Harbour, Jenifer Lewis, Aaron Pierre, Patton Oswalt, Jelly Roll, and Steph Curry.