Spider-Man actor under fire after voicing fear of new series being 'annoying and woke'

Today marks the premiere of the brand-new Spider-Man animated show Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man, but its main actor has recently come under fire for some questionable comments.

Airing today, 29 January, on Disney+, Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man is a new animated show based on our favourite web-slinger.

Exploring Peter Parker’s origin story, the show will have a slight twist as it is set in an alternative reality where Norman Osborn takes on the role of Peter’s mentor instead of Tony Stark.

As the next big project in the Marvel Cinematic Universe calendar, it is an exciting time but recent comments from the main star Hudson Thames have not been received well by potential viewers.

Thames, who will be taking on the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man, previously starred as the web-slinger in Marvel’s What If…? and this will be his first time reprising the role.

Ahead of the launch of Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man, Thames sat down with Collider’s Mike Thomas to talk about the show’s fresh take on the well-known story.

“I thought it was awesome. I mean, my biggest fear was that it was gonna be annoying and woke, and it wasn’t, and I was like, ‘Yes, this is great, it’s so well written,’ like it feels real.”

He continued, “I’m the oldest of five boys, so I feel like I kind of know what’s happening in their lives and in high school, and it felt like it was doing that justice.”

Of course, the issue here is the word “woke” which entered mainstream language in the 2010s as a way to refer to “a broader awareness of social inequalities such as racial injustice, sexism, and denial of LGBTQ rights”.

However, it was soon taken over by the average basement-dweller and now a video game is considered “woke” if it features a female character, apparently.

Thames’ comments follow showrunner Jeff Trammell’s own thoughts about his new vision of New York City.

For him, he wanted the city to be full of representation that accurately portrays the many different cultures and experiences of its people.

Regardless of the comments by its lead actor, Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man is still set to air later today and it remains to be seen how this brand-new adaptation will live up to the others.