A few weeks ago, rumours surfaced that relative unknown Chris Zylka had scored the role of Eugene ‘Flash’ Thompson in the Spider-man reboot, which has just started shooting. While the source was Zylka himself (via Twitter), there was no official confirmation, but now The Wrap has confirmed that the actor is indeed onboard and that Flash is the role he’ll play. Zylka is best known as Joey in the 10 Things I Hate About You TV series.
In the comics, Eugene ‘Flash’ Thompson is a star football player at Peter Parker’s high school, who mercilessly bullies Parker but, at the same time, looks up to his Spider-Man alter-ego. It’s not known how big the role will be (Flash was played by Joe Mangiello in the 2002 Sam Raimi movie, but it was a very small part), and whether the plan is to follow through with the character in later films. In the Marvel mythology he becomes a soldier after high school, is haunted by his experiences, starts drinking heavily and eventually become Parker’s friend.
Shooting on the Spider-man reboot began earlier this week, with Marc Webb directing, Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy.