A Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse alum is joining the cast of ABC's Stumptown, based on the Oni Press comic of the same name.
Actor Jake Johnson, who previously starred in Fox's long-running New Girl, is set to co-star alongside Cobie Smulders in the upcoming drama. Johnson will replace actor Mark Webber, who was initially cast in the series regular role of Grey McConnell, who is the best friend to Smulders' Dex.
While it's normal for most shows to undergo re-castings following a series order from a pilot, Webber indicated in a now-deleted social media post that he'd actually been fired from the project because the executives did not feel he was handsome enough. "Look, I’m a straight white male so I know my journey has been way less painful in this warped industry, but I’m being recast in a network television show because I’m not handsome enough for the executives," Webber tweeted earlier this month.
The actor then considered how the network would go about framing the incident as news of the recasting had coincided with television upfronts. However, ABC declined to comment on the matter. Despite his unpleasant experience with the executives, Webber went on to wish those behind the project his best.
Johnson is coming off of playing Peter B. Parker in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. He's also attached to star in an adult-orientated comedy for Netflix, titled Hoops. Stumptown marks the actor's first live-action TV role since New Girl, as Johnson has turned his focus towards films in recent years, starring in The Mummy and Tag.
Stumptown is executive produced by Jason Richman, along with Ruben Fleischer and David Bernad. Rucka, Southworth and Justin Greenwood will also be involved in the production of the series. Smulders will be joined by Tantoo Cardinal, Cole Sibus, Adrian Martinez, Camryn Manheim and Michael Ealy in the show.
(via TVLine)