Spider-Man: What Giancarlo Esposito Would Look Like as Older Miles Morales

A new work of fan-art has given Marvel’s Spider-Man a new face — with Giancarlo Esposito transformed into an older version of Miles Morales. Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli, Miles debuted in 2011’s Ultimate Fallout #4. In the wake of Peter Parker’s death, the biracial teenager stepped up to assume the wall-crawling mantle. Miles immediately resonated with countless fans for offering a fresh take on the classic superhero. He was later adapted for the big screen in 2018’s Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. With Miles voiced by Shameik Moore, the film received near-universal acclaim and won an Academy Award. The character also received a similarly-popular PS5 video game.

As of yet, Miles Morales hasn’t been brought to life in live-action. His existence, however, was teased in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. During a confrontation between Tom Holland’s Peter and Donald Glover’s Aaron Davis, the latter mentioned his nephew. Comic book fans immediately recognized this as a reference to Miles. As such, it’s confirmed that the character is out there somewhere. Phase 4 of the MCU will delve into a new generation of heroes, like Kate Bishop. Similarly, the new Spider-Man 3 will see other incarnations of Spidey appear. With Holland’s Peter still in the teenage years of his journey, however, it’s unlikely Miles will be a part of that. Regardless, Miles Morales cast predictions have remained a fun, recurring topic of debate.

Artist Gryphon509, however, has offered an outside-the-box take with a new work of fan-art. Rather than a fresh-faced and teenage depiction, his Miles Morales is far older and more grizzled from decades of battle. Perched in costume and overlooking New York City, specks of grey now flecking his hair and beard, this version of Miles is embodied by Esposito. The veteran actor even noticed and shared the piece on his own Twitter account. Thanking the artist, Esposito admitted, “Never thought I’d see himself in Spidey form” but found the concept to be “very cool“. Check out the post and full artwork below:

The above artwork also received a blushing exclamation of “oh damn” from Spider-Verse writer Phil Lord. Esposito has had an eclectic film and TV career that goes back decades. However, he achieved true breakout status on Breaking Bad — dominating the screen as the villainous Gus Fring. Since then, he had enjoyed roles on franchises both long-enduring and fledgling. Most recently, he played the similarly villainous roles of Vought CEO Stan Edgar on The Boys and the Darksaber-wielding Moff Gideon on The Mandalorian.  So far, the MCU has remained one sandbox that he’s yet to play in. Fans, however, have believed it to be merely a matter of time before that’s rectified.

To date, the most popular pick for who the actor could play has been X-Men founder Professor X. Conversely, a separate piece of fan art imagined Esposito as a Mjolnir-stealing Magneto. It’s safe to say that the Miles option would’ve surprised fans as much as Esposito himself. That being said, it could be extremely interesting. It would be a rare heroic turn for Esposito and he would no doubt turn in a great performance. And with time-travel now a firm and ongoing part of the MCU, it’d be well within the realm of possibility. After all, if villains like Kang the Conqueror are set to emerge, why couldn’t future iterations of heroes like Miles Morales? It would be a unique way for Peter to learn of his existence and that there’s another Spider-Man for him to one day inspire and/or train. Then again, a fun twist could even be to reverse the comics and have Future Miles actually be one of Peter’s new mentors.

Source: Gryphon509/Twitter; Giancarlo Esposito/Twitter

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