Disney+ is set to premiere its new Marvel animated series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man on January 29, and the show’s star recently expressed his biggest fear about the show.
Hudson Thames voices Peter Parker in the animated series and, in a new interview, said he was worried the show would “be annoying and woke.”
“I thought it was awesome. I mean, my biggest fear was that it was gonna be annoying and woke, and it wasn’t, and I was like, ‘Yes, this is great, it’s so well written,’ like it feels real,” Thames told Collider. “I’m the oldest of five boys, so I feel like I kind of know what’s happening in their lives and in high school, and it felt like it was doing that justice.”
Merriam-Webster defines “woke” as a person who is “aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues, especially issues of racial and social justice.” However, in recent years, the term has been used as a dog whistle for detractors of inclusivity and diversity.
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Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is a 10-episode series premiering on January 29 on Disney+. In addition to Thames, the voice cast includes Colman Domingo, Eugene Byrd, Grace Song, Zeno Robinson, Hugh Dancy and Charlie Cox.
Jeff Trammell is the head writer, and Mel Zwyer is the supervising director. Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt, and Trammell serve as executive producers.
Thames first voiced Peter Parker in the Disney+ series What If…? in 2021, taking over the role from Tom Holland, who plays Spider-Man in live-action.