Spider-Man's Flash Thompson Auditioned For Two Other MCU Roles

The Marvel Cinematic Universe found its Flash Thompson in Tony Revolori, who could have joined this connected universe way earlier, as he auditioned for two other roles. The MCU as fans know it began back in 2008 with Jon Favreau’s Iron Man, which introduced viewers to Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark and set the basis for what would become a big connected universe of Marvel Comics characters. With over 20 films and counting, the MCU has welcomed characters like Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and – of course – Spider-Man.

The web-slinger finally joined the MCU after a deal between Sony and Marvel that allows him to take part in it while also having his own life over at Sony’s universe. Tom Holland made his debut as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War and got his first solo adventure the following year. Titled Spider-Man: Homecoming, the film followed Peter as he did his best to balance high school and superhero life, all while dealing with Adrian Toomes a.k.a. Vulture (Michael Keaton). Spider-Man: Homecoming also introduced some of Peter’s schoolmates, such as his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), Michelle Jones (Zendaya), and bully Flash Thompson (Tony Revolori).

Although Homecoming was their MCU debut, not all of them were completely new to the process of auditioning for a Marvel role. Before Tom Holland was cast as the new Spider-Man, Marvel held an open ethnicity call and Revolori saw his chance of playing the beloved superhero on the big screen. Revolori recalls that he arrived to the place with “all the confidence in the world”, which was all gone once he looked around and saw “every young white Hollywood actor”. He even prepared for the role by researching everything about the character, not just about Peter Parker, and shared that he “bombed that audition so badly”.

Before Marvel began looking for its new Spider-Man, Revolori auditioned for a minor role in Iron Man. He revealed that the character was none other than “refugee kid”, in the scene where Iron Man is in Afghanistan in the middle of conflict. As families are separated and about to be killed, Iron Man arrives and saves them all, with a kid then running towards his dad – that could have been Revolori’s MCU debut. His third attempt to join the world of superheroes was finally successful, but he originally auditioned for another role: Ned Leeds. Revolori explained that somewhere in the many auditions, another role for him came up, and that’s how he ended up playing Flash Thompson.

Revolori has now played Flash Thompson in both Spider-Man films and is expected to come back in Spider-Man: Homecoming 3, where he surely will continue being Spidey's #1 fan while being Peter Parker’s rival in high school. Revolori’s journey into the MCU is one of perseverance and patience, as he ended up joining the Marvel Universe in a much bigger and better role than the one he could have had in Iron Man.

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