11/18/2010

Denis Leary joins Spider-Man relaunch

I guess Denis Leary is tired of just voicing talking sabretooth tigers. The ranting comedian, who hasn't been in a live-action flick since the underrated The Secret Lives of Dentists, is in talks to join Marc Webb's Spider-Man reboot as Captain George Stacy, father to Gwen Stacy played by Emma Stone.  Leary has spent the last few years starring in the FX tv series, Rescue Me, and also voicing one of the main characters in the Ice Age animated features.

In comics lore, George Stacy was one of Spider-Man's most staunch supporters. A former NY police captain, he was one of the few who suspected that Peter Parker and Spider-Man were the same dude. Probably by noticing that they had the same voice and skinny pencilneck. However before he could make this know, he was accidentally killed during a fight between Spidey and Doctor Octopus. His last words were for Parker to "be good" to his daughter. Ahhh, if only he knew. 

I'll be curious to see if the Stacy clan follows the same fatal path laid out for them in the comics. I think it's almost a certainty that Gwen will die at some point in order to make way for the emergence of Mary Jane, but will her father suffer the same fate? I don't think so, but we shall see!