Hollywood’s fascination with casting British actors as Americans has become a prominent thing in recent years.

A major example of this came when Andrew Garfield was cast as the web-slinging superhero Spider-Man in Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and its 2014 follow-up.

However Marvel were clearly disappointed when neither film particularly impressed at the box-office which eventually led to the studio making the controversial decision to commission ANOTHER Spider-Man reboot, this time with a younger actor to portray the much-loved superhero.

Several young actors were touted for the role including Asa Butterfield (Hugo, Ender’s Game) but Marvel and Sony Pictures have officially confirmed that another young Brit has landed the major gig.

19 year old Tom Holland will play Peter Parker / Spider-Man in the upcoming reboot which delves further into the student’s school life as well as taking on the responsibility of fighting crime in New York City through his alter-ego.

Producers Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal announced the news of Holland’s casting at a news conference earlier today and also revealed that a director for the reboot has been found in the form of newcomer Jon Watts. The rookie made a name for himself at this year’s Sundance Film Festival with his indie-thriller Cop Car.

On the new film, Sony Pictures Motion Pictures Group Chairman Tom Rothman said:

“It’s a big day here at Sony. Kevin, Amy and their teams have done an incredible job. The Marvel process is very thorough, and that’s why their results are so outstanding. I’m confident Spider-Man will be no exception. I’ve worked with a number of up-and-coming directors who have gone on to be superstars and believe that Jon is just such an outstanding talent. For Spidey himself, we saw many terrific young actors, but Tom’s screen tests were special. All in all, we are off to a roaring start.”

Holland made his big breakthrough in 2012 when he played Lucas, the eldest son of a British family torn apart by a deadly tsunami, in the real-life survival drama The Impossible. The heartbreaking role saw him nominated for several accolades for which he ended up winning Empire’s Best Male Newcomer award in 2013.

He also appeared alongside Saoirse Ronan in the thriller How I Live Now (2013) and voiced Tom Hardy’s son in the British drama Locke (2013).  This year has already seen him play Gregory Cromwell in the historical series Wolf Hall and he will also be figuring in Ron Howard’s upcoming sea epic In the Heart of the Sea, which co-stars Chris Hemsworth and Brendan Gleeson.

The latest Spider-Man installment will be released on July 28th 2017 though Holland will actually be making his web-slinging debut in Marvel’s upcoming blockbuster epic Captain America: Civil War, which comes out next April.