Marvel Always Wanted Donald Glover to Make the 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Miles Morales Reference

One particular Easter Egg from Spider-Man: Homecoming had fans giddy with excitement: the nod to Miles Morales, a beloved character who took over the mantle of Spider-Man in the Ultimate Comics after the death of that universe's Peter Parker.

Many hoped that Miles would appear in some form in the MCU. When #DonaldGlover was cast in Homecoming, many fans were enthusiastically speculating that he would go on to play an older version of Miles Morales, whom he'd previously voiced. (More on that in a minute.) This was proven false, but Glover instead played a character with a personal relationship to Miles: In the Ultimate Comics, Aaron Davis is The Prowler, a highly inventive cat burglar who is indirectly responsible for Miles gaining his powers ... and he also happens to be Miles's uncle.

And now the actor has revealed that he was Marvel's only choice for the role.

Donald Glover's History With Miles Morales

Glover has made no secret of his desire to play #SpiderMan. After he wore a Spider-Man costume in an episode of Community, a Twitter campaign took off to cast him in The Amazing Spider-Man. The hashtag "donald4spiderman" gained a large following. Ultimately, this never came to fruition, but Glover did eventually get to play Spider-Man when he voiced Miles Morales in #UltimateSpiderMan.

While speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Glover explained how he became involved with Spider-Man: Homecoming: Jon Watts approached him directly, offering him the role of Aaron Davis, as he wanted to include a nod to Miles Morales in the film due to the character's popularity. He also told Glover "If you don't do [the part], we aren't going to [include] it."

Davis first appears as a man involved in an arms deal with the Shocker, reluctant to take their gear after seeing what it can do. He doesn't want to "shoot someone back in time." One of the aliases he's known by is "The Prowler," according to the A.I. in Peter Parker's suit, so Davis obviously already has a history in the #MCU.

While Peter's attempted interrogation of Davis is an amusing scene, it's clear to see that The Prowler isn't completely bad. He clearly realizes that it's Peter's first time interrogating anyone, and is actually very helpful to the young hero. After bonding over sandwiches, Davis proceeds to tell Spidey about the weapons, which he doesn't want in the neighborhood — particularly when his nephew could be in danger.

Throughout his comic book history, the Prowler has fluctuated between burglar and vigilante fairly regularly, so it wouldn't be out of the question that perhaps Spider-Man's actions have turned Davis to the side of justice. Rather than continue his life as a petty thief, he may return in a future film as a hero motivated by protecting his nephew. After being intrigued by the "anti-gravity climbers" during the weapons deal, he might put his technological knowhow to good use and create a Prowler costume that will appear in a future film. Whatever happens, we need to see more of Donald Glover in the MCU.