How Old Will Andrew Garfield Be When the Next Spider-Man 3 Comes Out?

By now you've no doubt heard that Andrew Garfield has been cast as Peter Parker in Sony's blockbuster reboot of Spider-Man. And sure, huzzah. Despite only appearing in a handful of movies -- many of which you've never seen nor heard of -- the buzz surrounding Garfield is that he's a legitimate actor with impressive chops that recall whatever '70s icon you're in the mood for recalling. Never mind that he's playing Spider-Man and not Hamlet or that Tobey Maguire was a legitimate actor too. This is a new day for comic book characters everywhere! It's just -- excuse me for being contrarian to the rest of the Internet, but: Isn't Garfield entirely too old for this?

The American-born Brit will turn 27 this August. That means by the time Spider-Man hits theaters on July 3rd, 2012, he'll be on the cusp of 29 -- this despite the fact that Peter Parker is a high school student. Yes, he looks young -- and yes, 20-somethings play high school students on television all the time -- but consider: By the time Spider-Man 2 gets released -- conservatively, let's say the summer of 2014 -- Garfield will be 30-going-on-31. Baby face or not, that's Gabrielle Carteris territory. And that's to say nothing of Spider-Man 3, a point when he'll likely require Just For Men.

Maybe he's a better actor than the other names on the final reported short list, but look at their ages: Anton Yelchin (21), Aaron Johnson (20), Jamie Bell (24), Logan Lerman (18) and Alden Ehrenreich (20). Don't all of them feel more Peter Parker-y simply because of the birth certificate? Something about this casting stinks of Sony just wanting to lock up their golden boy in the short term (Garfield reportedly kills in The Social Network) without giving a second thought to the long term.

EARLIER: BREAKING: Andrew Garfield Cast as Peter Parker in Marc Webb's 'Spider-Man' Reboot