Niko Tavernise/Columbia PicturesSpider-Man won't be doing any same-sex webslinging anytime soon. Nor will he be anything but white.
At least not if the Marvel superhero's co-creator has anything to do with it.
E! News caught up with comic book legend Stan Lee at the premiere of Ant-Man (in theaters July 17) last night to get his take on a recently leaked studio memo that insisted Peter Parker/Spider-man always be Caucasian and straight.
"The only thing I don't like doing is changing the characters we already have," he said. "For example, I'd like Spider-Man to stay as he is, but I have no problem creating a superhero who's homosexual. I have no problem with having a black one, a Latino one, a Chinese one, anything—the whole world is our playground. The whole world has heroes we can draw from.
"I'm just not too happy changing what has already been established," he said.
The Sony memo about a licensing agreement that was published by Gawker states that Spidey must "conform to...Mandatory Character Traits," which include being a straight white male. He also does not torture, kill unless in self-defense, curse, smoke cigarettes, use or sell drugs, abuse alcohol or have sex before age 16.
Tom Holland was recently cast as Spider-Man for the upcoming reboot of the blockbuster franchise.
"I think it's great," Lee said of the 19-year-old British actor. "They are doing so much with Spider-Man. You just wait and see all the surprises we have in store for you."