In the sprawling web of Hollywood speculation, where casting rumors tangle like vines in a Gotham alley, few statements have swung audiences into a frenzy quite like Bella Ramsey’s recent declaration. The 21-year-old breakout star, whose gritty portrayal of Ellie in HBO’s The Last of Us has cemented them as a force of raw, unfiltered talent, dropped a bombshell during an August 2025 interview with Variety: “I could be Spider-Man.” Uttered with the casual defiance of a survivor staring down a clicker horde, the quip wasn’t just idle chatter—it was a gauntlet thrown at the feet of Marvel Studios, igniting debates that echo from Reddit threads to Kevin Feige’s Burbank boardroom. As Tom Holland’s Peter Parker gears up for Spider-Man: Brand New Day in 2026, Ramsey’s bold claim has fans divided: Is this the dawn of a non-binary web-slinger revolution, or a playful jab destined for the cutting-room floor? With Pedro Pascal’s MCU glow rubbing off on their Last of Us co-star, Ramsey’s interest in joining the Avengers’ ranks feels less like fantasy and more like a fork in the multiverse, one that could redefine heroism for a generation craving inclusivity amid the spandex spectacle.
Ramsey’s journey to this superhero crossroads has been anything but ordinary. Born in Nottingham, England, in 2003, they burst onto screens at age 10 as the pint-sized powerhouse Lyanna Mormont in HBO’s Game of Thrones, a role that demanded a ferocity belying their youth. “Give me one good reason why I should waste good steel on you,” the child bear lord snarled at grown knights, stealing scenes and hearts in equal measure. It was a star-is-born moment, the kind that lingers like dragonfire. But it was 2023’s The Last of Us—HBO’s faithful adaptation of Naughty Dog’s gut-wrenching game—that truly unleashed Ramsey. As Ellie, the foul-mouthed teen immune to the Cordyceps plague, they navigated a post-apocalyptic hellscape with a vulnerability wrapped in venom, earning a Primetime Emmy nod and comparisons to a young Leonardo DiCaprio. Season 2, filming through 2025 and slated for 2026, promises even darker depths, with Ramsey’s Ellie grappling with loss and moral ambiguity in a world gone feral. Off-screen, they’ve been refreshingly candid: coming out as non-binary in 2023, using they/them pronouns, and exploring gender through whimsical confessions like using Club Penguin as a childhood sandbox for identity. “I was always the penguin in the tutu,” they joked in a NME profile, blending humor with the quiet courage that defines their public persona.
The Variety chat, part of HBO’s Emmy campaign blitz, started innocently enough. Interviewer Marc Malkin, riffing on Pascal’s debut as Reed Richards in The Fantastic Four: First Steps (a 2025 hit that stretched the MCU’s cosmic canvas), probed if Ramsey had leveraged their on-screen surrogate dad for a superhero hookup. “You didn’t call [Pascal] and say you wanted to be in the next MCU movie?” Malkin teased. Ramsey, lounging in a sun-dappled LA hotel suite, paused with that trademark half-smirk. “I don’t know about that,” they replied, before unleashing the zinger: “I could be Spider-Man.” The room erupted in laughter, but the line landed like a web-fluid cartridge in a crowded theater. Quick to qualify, Ramsey nodded to Holland’s tenure—”Tom Holland did a great job though. So maybe they do need to make a new [superhero] for me”—a diplomatic dodge that acknowledged the Brit boy’s billion-dollar swing while leaving the door cracked for their own crawlspace entry.
What elevated the quip from promo fluff to cultural lightning rod was context. Ramsey confessed to being a MCU novice, their gateway drug a recent binge of Andrew Garfield’s The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). “It was the first time I watched a Marvel film, and that was two months, three months ago,” they gushed. “Incredible. I loved it.” Garfield’s emo Peter—haunted, acrobatic, a tragic Romeo in red-and-blue—resonates with Ramsey’s own affinity for damaged underdogs. It’s no stretch: Ellie’s survivalist grit mirrors Spidey’s quippy resilience, both masking profound isolation. Fans latched on, flooding X with montages splicing Ramsey’s Last of Us knife-fights with web-swinging edits. One viral TikTok, viewed 5 million times, dubbed it “Spider-Ellie: Cordyceps in the Multiverse,” complete with a haunting mashup of “Never Enough” from The Greatest Showman (Ramsey’s 2017 debut) and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse‘s score.
The backlash, predictably swift, underscores the MCU’s powder-keg politics. On Reddit’s r/marvelstudios, a thread titled “Bella Ramsey says they could play Spider Man in the MCU” ballooned to 2,000 comments, roughly 60% scorched-earth. “Spider-They? Hard pass—Peter’s a straight white dude, deal with it,” one top reply snarled, echoing the Sony-Marvel pact’s rumored stipulation for a “classic” Parker. Transphobic jabs flew: “Go back to infected Yorkshire, not Queens,” laced with Last of Us barbs from gamers still salty about Ellie’s casting. X’s #BoycottSpiderThey trended briefly, amplified by anti-woke influencers decrying “forced diversity” as the franchise’s kryptonite. Cosmic Book News tallied fan sentiment at 60% negative, with detractors warning it’d “destroy” the box office like The Marvels (2023’s $206 million dud). Yet amid the venom, glimmers of support shone: 25% neutral or humorous (“Spider-Ramsey vs. Clickers? Instant classic”), and 15% fervent allies. “As a non-binary fan, this is the rep we deserve—web-slinging without the binary baggage,” tweeted GLAAD’s account, sparking 10,000 likes. LGBTQ+ outlets like Gay Times hailed it as “progress in tights,” while Screen Rant pondered animated avenues: With Spider-Verse sequels like Beyond the Spider-Verse (delayed to 2027) and spin-offs (Spider-Women, Spider-Punk), Ramsey’s voice work could slip them into the multiverse sans live-action flak.
Rumors, that fickle arachnid, have spun their own web. Whispers peg Ramsey for Marvel’s X-Men reboot, Kevin Feige’s youth-quake post-Deadpool & Wolverine (2024’s $1.3 billion juggernaut). At 21, they fit the “younger” brief, with fan-casts as Rogue (Southern belle with power-absorbing sass) or Kitty Pryde (phasing teen genius). SuperHeroHype floated the idea, noting Ramsey’s chemistry with Pascal could echo in ensemble chaos. No confirmations—Feige’s poker face rivals Loki’s—but insiders buzz about auditions in Atlanta, where Captain America: Brave New World (February 2025) wrapped amid secrecy. Holland, ever gracious, sidestepped in a Collider chat: “Bella’s a beast—whatever suit they wear, it’d be fire.” Pascal, paternal as always, teased a heist flick reunion: “Bank job with bells on,” he posted on Instagram, a cryptic nod to Ocean’s Eleven vibes over web-fluid.
For Ramsey, the pitch is personal. In a post-interview i-D deep-dive, they unpacked the draw: “Superheroes are about the mask—the parts we hide, the powers we doubt. Ellie’s got that; why not swing it?” Their non-binary lens refracts Spidey’s core: an everyman (or enby) burdened by responsibility, quipping through queer-coding subtext. Into the Spider-Verse (2018) shattered molds with Miles Morales; a Ramsey-led variant could phase through gender norms, echoing Gwen Stacy’s arc or Hobie’s punk anarchy. Critics like MovieWeb argue it’s timely: Amid 2025’s trans visibility push—post-Euphoria finale and Nimona‘s Oscar buzz—representation isn’t checkbox; it’s catharsis. “In a world vilifying us, a Spider-They slings hope,” one op-ed posited. Yet pitfalls loom: Backlash could tank a project, as She-Hulk (2022) learned with its feminist flex. Marvel, post-Multiverse of Madness ($955 million), craves safe swings; Ramsey’s edge might demand a Spider-Verse safety net.
As October 2025 chills the air, with The Last of Us Season 2 teasers dripping dread, Ramsey’s claim lingers like a web in the wind. It’s not just about a suit—it’s a manifesto for multiplicity in a monochrome mythos. Holland’s Parker endures, a teen titan in Brand New Day, but the multiverse hums with “what ifs.” Could Ramsey’s quip birth a Spider-Byte, a hacker-hero phasing through firewalls? Or a gritty, infected take in a Last of Us-MCU crossover fever dream? Fans meme it mercilessly: Photoshopped Ramseys in the classic red-and-blue, captioned “With great power comes great pronoun pins.” Supporters rally with #SpiderRamsey, petitions for a variant hitting 50,000 signatures. Detractors? They’ll rage, but rage sells tickets—witness Joker’s billion-dollar bile.
Ultimately, Ramsey’s shock claim isn’t hubris; it’s hunger—a young artist eyeing the skyline, web-shooters at the ready. In an MCU bloated with cameos and crossovers, their voice cuts clear: Heroes aren’t born; they’re cast. As Pascal stretches the canvas in Fantastic Four, perhaps a call comes. Until then, the web quivers. Bella Ramsey as Spider-Man? Not impossible—just the next swing in a story forever unfolding. Lights, camera, thwip.
