Spider-Man has always been a fixture of the superhero landscape. While the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe led to a massive increase in superhero projects throughout the 2010s, the webslinger's success predates all of this. Whether you grew up with Tobey Maguire's wall-crawler on your screen in the 2000s, Andrew Garfield's Amazing Spider-Man of the 2010s, or Tom Holland's Spidey in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there is no disputing that the character has stood the test of time.
That being said, it's hard to argue that there has never been a bigger and better time to be a Spider-Man fan. The character's ongoing important to the MCU is obviously a big part of that (just look at Spider-Man: Brand New Day's record-breaking box office success as a recent example of that), with the franchise also bringing back Maguire and Garfield's Spideys in the previous installment, but we also have the likes of the Spider-Verse movies and animated shows Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and Spidey and His Amazing Friends to look forward to as well.
That's a lot of Spider-Man stars, too. However, one of those leading Spideys has undergone a recast.
Marvel Studios' Spidey And His Amazing Friends recasts the webslinger in season 5
Spidey and His Amazing Friends is back with a very big change. The Marvel Studios' Animation show returned for its fifth season this season, but there is a new actor portraying Peter Parker, with Nick A. Fisher taking over the role from the season premiere. This actually marks the third time that the role of the webslinger has been recast on the preschool animated series, as Benjamin Valic voiced the character for the first two seasons, while Alkaio Thiele did the same for seasons 3 and 4.
The recasting process on Spidey and His Amazing Friends is actually pretty common for the show and it can be explained by the fact that the young actors voicing the central heroes on the show age out of the role. As many live-action productions showcase, children can grow up fast and their voices change - faster than the characters that they are portraying, requiring the studio to recast their role so that audiences don't notice the changes in Spider-Man's voice.
In fact, the original trio of stars are no longer voicing their respective characters for this very reason. Benjamin Valic's Spider-Man was accompanied by Jakari Fraser's Miles Morales and Lily Sanfelippo for the first two seasons of the show as Spidey and His Amazing Friends centred on those heroes' adventures together. However, Valic and Sanfelippo left the show after two seasons while Fraser remained on as Miles for the third. He then left the series ahead of the fourth season. Audrey Bennett and Carter Young have been voicing Gwen and Miles since taking over, with both also returning for the fifth season.
Spidey and His Amazing Friends may not be a part of the MCU franchise but it is produced by Marvel Studios Animation, making it a loose relation in a sense. It's also got an important statistic over the MCU, as it was just recently confirmed that the preschool animated series is Marvel's most-watched TV show ever on the Disney Plus platform, amassing an incredible 1.3 millions viewed globally, surpassing even the live-action MCU shows. That highlights both the popularity of Spider-Man and the enduring appeal of this preschool animated show (which also airs on Disney Jr.).
It's going to be around for a lot longer too as it is set to return for its sixth season next year, with a season 7 renewal for 2028 also confirmed. The franchise continues beyond the original show, too, with Iron Man and His Awesome Friends setting up a crossover spinoff Marvel's Avengers: Mightiest Friends (which arrives on Disney Jr. and Disney Plus in 2027).
Spidey and His Amazing Friends season 5 is currently airing on Disney Jr. and streaming on Disney Plus.
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