Timothée Chalamet has played a chocolate maker, a desert messiah, a table-tennis prodigy, and several emotionally complicated men with excellent hair. Now, the internet has decided his next logical career move is becoming Spider-Man's deeply troubled best friend.
Chalamet has suddenly found himself at the centre of Harry Osborn casting speculation after a post claimed the actor was in early talks with Marvel Studios to join Tom Holland's next Spider-Man trilogy.
There is, however, one fairly enormous catch. The account behind the original claim, @ChaosCrave_, is a parody account. Marvel has not announced Chalamet as Harry Osborn, and there is currently no confirmed indication that negotiations are actually happening.
Nevertheless, the rumours are hard to ignore. Once somebody puts Timothée Chalamet beside the words 'Harry Osborn', there is no putting that particular pumpkin bomb back in the bag.
Fans Can Already See Timothée Chalamet as Harry Osborn
Harry Osborn remains one of the biggest characters missing from Holland's corner of the MCU.
James Franco played Norman Osborn's son opposite Tobey Maguire, while Dane DeHaan took over the role during Andrew Garfield's Amazing Spider-Man era. Holland, meanwhile, has spent a decade web-slinging without his own Harry.
That makes any potential casting irresistible fan bait, and Chalamet certainly comes with the résumé.
The 30-year-old has built one of his generation's biggest acting careers through Dune, Call Me by Your Name, Little Women, Wonka, and Marty Supreme, collecting three Best Actor Oscar nominations along the way.
Some fans reckon those dramatic credentials would fit Harry's combination of wealth, insecurity, friendship, and eventual emotional implosion rather nicely.
'He would be amazing lowkey,' one Instagram user wrote.
Another was already sold on the aesthetic, arguing Chalamet has the 'preppy visual aesthetic' and slightly 'cocky quality' that could make him 'the perfect Harry'.
Then somebody realised what this hypothetical casting would actually produce: Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Timothée Chalamet occupying the same Spider-Man universe.
'Tom Holland, Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet would be an insane love triangle in a movie,' one fan declared.
Somewhere, Peter Parker's spider-sense just tingled in suspicion.
Other Spider-Man Fans Would Prefer Marvel Keep Looking
For every person shouting 'generational casting', there appears to be another preparing to personally lock the Marvel casting office if the rumour rings true.
'Oh absolutely not,' one commenter responded.
Another skipped the filter entirely with: 'bro please f***ing no'.
Several fans suggested alternatives including Joe Keery, Ewan Mitchell, Mason Thames, and Harrison Osterfield, while one questioned Hollywood's tendency to keep circling the same established names.
Others had a relatively more practical problem with the theory. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Willem Dafoe's multiversal Norman Osborn discovered that Oscorp apparently did not exist in the MCU. Peter also knows exactly what Norman eventually becomes.
As one fan pointed out, introducing Harry now therefore creates the small matter of explaining where the Osborn family has been hiding.
This is Marvel, though. Between multiverses, erased memories, and people regularly respawning, 'Oscorp wasn't here before' is hardly an unbeatable obstacle. For now, Chalamet's Harry Osborn remains internet casting rather than confirmed MCU business.
Still, the reaction has already demonstrated one thing. Marvel does not even need to cast Timothée Chalamet to start a civil war among Spider-Man fans. Somebody simply has to suggest it.
