Josh Hutcherson as Spider-Kid?

Do you even know who Josh Hutcherson is? He's that guy, there. (*points*) The little dweeb looks like he might be a front-runner for Peter Parker in Sony's Spider-Man reboot. So they're aiming young, then.

Earlier this week, some sites jumped the gun and reported that Percy Jackson actor Logan Lerman was to play the lead in Sony's new 'back to basics' Spider-Man reboot. They were wrong, as a studio statement was released that essentially read: "Logan Lerman will not be Peter Parker. Stop going though our trash, assholes."

Then, Kick-Ass's Aaron Johnson revealed in an interview that he'd been approached to star in a big name, in-development superhero movie. And he turned them down, rightly, because he already has a superhero role that's far better than that little piss-ant Peter Parker.

Now, IESB claim yet another name has been added to Spider-Man's so-called 'short'list: Josh Hutcherson. 18 this year, he was the kid from Bridge To Terabithia, Little Manhattan and Zathura. IMDB claims his favourite superhero is Batman. A cunning bluff, no doubt.

As far as casting goes, he's one of the least objectionable actors on the list (Zac Efron my ass; my ass, Zac Efron), but it's too early to tell whether he'll be a good fit or not until a script surfaces. The tone will reportedly be 'dark and gritty' (oh joy), which is precisely the wrong direction to take Spider-Man, in this humble writer's opinion. (*dusts soot off quaint chimney sweep hat, curtsies*).

Frankly, if Sony are looking to cut costs by hiring a relative unknown, they should just put an order in for a young Culkin - they're grown to order in pod farms now, you know.