The Walking Dead star Matt Lintz has just made his official debut into the MCU with the highly-anticipated release of Disney Plus' Ms. Marvel. However, Lintz himself recently revealed that he nearly landed the role of Spider-Man before Tom Holland was chosen.
Ms. Marvel follows the titular heroine of Kamala Khan, a Pakistani-American teenager living in New Jersey. Kamala identifies as a loner, and as a result a major superhero fan in every facet. Whether it be creating cosplay of her favorite heroes for conventions, writing her own fan-ficition, or indulging in comic books for hours at a time, Kamala is just as much a Marvel fan as the viewers all watching at home. Kamala struggles to feel as though she belongs amongst her peers due to her two different and polarizing cultures, fearing flaunting her duality in high school, an environment very much catered to stereotypes. Luckily for Kamala, she isn’t completely alone. Lintz portrays Kamala's techie best friend and partner in crime, Bruno Carrelli. It was reported by Insider that when his time on The Walking Dead came to an end, he decided to focus all of his attention on returning to school.
However, when the opportunity to audition for Ms. Marvel came his way, he couldn’t refuse. Ms. Marvel was actually the first show he had agreed to audition for since the hit AMC drama concluded. Lintz has had a long-time dream of joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one that began with him auditioning for the famous role of Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man, back in 2015. The Walking Dead actor was apparently one of the top three actors seriously considered for the iconic hero, alongside Tom Holland and Charlie Plummer.
Obviously, the role ended up going to Holland, who made his first appearance as Spider-Man in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. During Ms. Marvel's recent virtual press conference, Lintz clarified he has no bitter feelings about not landing the role because he eventually was able to make it onto the MCU scene regardless. Lintz even shared that he got to meet Holland while on the set of the new hit Marvel series. He stated, “It was cool because he ended up coming to one of our sets one day, and I just got to speak to him. I look up to him in so many ways. He’s such an amazing person and an actor. It seems like life has come full circle.”
Although Lintz's character doesn’t possess any powers of his own, he holds a multitude of inner knowledge and wisdom that assists Kamala throughout her journey in Ms. Marvel. Lintz ultimately made the tough decision to put off going back to school in order to devote all his energy to the show.
Ms. Marvel is now streaming on Disney Plus.
Source: Insider