Spider-Man fans have certainly had a lot to be excited about this week. Not only did we hear about Sony’s animated wall-crawler feature, but we finally learned the title of Spidey’s first solo film as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe: ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’. There’s even talk of former Batman and Birman Michael Keaton joining that cast to supposedly play Adrian Tomes AKA The Vulture. Although, before any of that happens, the web-slinger will make his MCU debut in upcoming Phase Three film ‘Captain America: Civil War’ and now we know a little bit about what will make this new incarnation of the classic character stand out from the ones that we’ve previously seen on the big screen.
While speaking with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige recently, /Film learned why it was important for Peter Parker to be much younger than we’ve seen him in the movies before. He also talks about why we don’t need another retelling of the origin story that we’ve gotten far too many times by now:
“We wanted to show a much younger Spidey, in contrast to our other heroes, a Spidey who — as was he was in the early ’60s, when he was first created in the Marvel bullpen — was totally different from the Marvel heroes. The other heroes don’t have to worry about homework. They don’t have to worry about being home at a certain time. That’s what makes Spider-Man Spider-Man. We also wanted to let audiences know he’s already Spider-Man; he’s been Spider-Man for a little while when we meet him. There wasn’t the expectation we’d tell an origin. I think everybody in the world already knows.”
I’ve been saying for years now that it would do Marvel and DC some good to build a franchise around some of their younger heroes because they would stand out so much from everything else they’re putting out there right now and Feige perfectly mentions all the reasons why that would be. However, I was thinking more about the Teen Titans or the Young Avengers since Sony seemed to be going in a completely different direction with Spider-Man. But now that the hero has yet another opportunity to start over, maybe this time around he’ll be able to thrive more now that he’s where he belongs in the MCU.
And can we just say again how great it is that we’re not getting Spider-Man’s origin story again? Like the first Batman movies, we join our hero already in action. It’s nice that we’re returning to that since there are so many characters that are so popular that the general public already knows the story. Sure, we’ll need the origins for the lesser known properties like Black Panther, Doctor Strange, and Captain Marvel, but we’re set on characters like Batman, the Fantastic Four, and the like.
What do you think about Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios’ approach to Spider-Man? Are you excited to see his MCU debut in ‘Captain America: Civil War’? And do his comments put your concerns about ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ at ease? Sound off in the comments.
‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ starring Tom Holland, Marisa Tomei, and Zendaya opens in theaters on July 7, 2017.
Despite being a “professional writer”, Ben likes run-on sentences and puns far too much. Also, he does not do whatever a spider can. For more of his attempts at being funny and the occasional insightful thought, follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
