EDITORIAL: Is The Cast Of SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING In Danger Of Becoming Too Bloated?
Half of Hollywood seemed to join Spider-Man: Homecoming this month, causing some fans to question Marvel's casting strategy. Are their concerns valid? (Hint: No). Read on to find out!...
By Minty -
Jun 28, 2016 06:06 PM EST
Sarah Finn might possibly be the busiest person in Hollywood at the moment. As filming on Spider-Man: Homecoming finally kicked into gear this month, the longtime Marvel casting director appeared to be working overtime on the recruitment front. Over the past three weeks, we’ve seen no less than thirteen new faces join the production. Don’t believe me? Check ‘em out for yourself above.
This leads us to one of two conclusions. A: Director Jon Watts has no intention of making an actual movie, and is instead using the pretense of a Spider-Man film to meet as many talented actors as he can - or B: the movie will rely heavily on its ensemble cast. As enticing as that first option is (why has nobody tried this before?), I’m inclined to believe in the latter. Which raises an important question: how can Watts hope to do justice to such an eclectic bunch with 120 minutes of screen time?
The MCU is no stranger to ensemble pieces. Both Avengers & Age Of Ultron are clearly defined as such, but a more fitting comparison would be this May’s Captain America: Civil War. Like Homecoming, Civil War possessed a stacked cast, including a dozen Avengers and a number of key supporting players. And yet, it never lost sight of what it was meant to be: a Captain America movie.
The way in which the Russo brothers managed to divvy up their colossal supporting cast so that no hero felt underused or unnecessary was remarkable. As an effective ‘spin-off’ of Civil War, the Homecoming crew can learn a lot from their Marvel contemporaries, while anxious Spidey fans can hopefully take solace in the fact that the studio have done this before.
Sadly that may not be enough to quell everyone’s fears. Spider-Man 3 & The Amazing Spider-Man 2 taught us the dangers of having ‘too many villains’, and it’s a doubt that’s plagued Spidey ever since. Fans were ecstatic to hear Oscar nominee (and all round cool guy) Michael Keaton would be portraying Homecoming’s main antagonist, but that excitement soon turned into trepidation as two more supporting villains were announced this month in Bokeem Woodbine & Logan Marshall-Green.
Contrary to popular opinion, this shouldn’t be a cause for concern. It’s always been my belief that adding talent will only improve a movie – providing you know how to use it. Having only directed smaller indie affairs like Clown & Cop Car (the latter of which only boasted 4 notable characters), Watts may not have much experience in this department - but Marvel do. You only have to look at The Winter Soldier to see how four villains can not only elevate a movie, but also complement one another.
Establishing a similar hierarchy is key here – and that's with regards to the entire Homecoming cast. As talented as Silicon Valley’s Martin Starr is, now that we know he’s playing one of Peter Parker’s teachers it’s unlikely that he’ll feature in more than a minor role. The same could be said for Kenneth Choi, who was confirmed to be playing the high school principal a few weeks ago. And that’s okay. These are good character actors, who can unselfishly provide support to Tom Holland’s wall-crawling teen.
Expect Marvel to adopt the same approach with Marshall-Green & Woodbine’s villains, staggering out their relative importance/screen-time. It’s likely one will only be around for the opening sequence, in the vein of a Batroc or a Crossbones. This gives them enough time to make an impression, but it also means they won’t overstay their welcome too (I’m looking at you Paul ‘no trousers’ Giamatti).
The big wild card is the young cast. Watts and his team have made a huge effort to ground Peter in a high school environment – and that’s honestly great to see. Growing up is the biggest struggle most ordinary adolescents have to deal with – and that’s not something Peter will magically get over just because he has superpowers. The best Spider-Man stories (both on the page and onscreen) have always had coming of age themes. That trend is certainly not about to stop here.
Surrounding Holland with a number of actors his own age adds an authenticity neither Spider-Man movie series ever had. These are all clearly high school kids, not actors in their late twenties pretending to look younger. The more young characters involved, the better too. It’s important to know more people attend Midtown High School than Peter, Mary-Jane & Flash Thompson. They don’t all need to be major characters, but their presence again adds authenticity.
Of course, a few may end up with a larger role than predicted. There’s a lot of young talent here. The Grand Budapest Hotel & Dope star Tony Revolori is one of the best up-and-coming actors around right now, while Abraham Attah deserved an Oscar nod for his work in Beasts Of No Nation. Together with Zendaya, they may end up forming a ‘Breakfast Club’-esque group of friends around Peter. It’s a fun thought - after all, no one did ‘coming of age’ movies better than John Hughes in the eighties.
Before I wrap things up, it’s essential we talk about how diverse this ensemble is. No longer content with passing off one black guy as ‘representation’, Marvel have added buckets of talent from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds. Joining Revolori, Attah, Woodbine, Zendaya & Choi are newcomer Laura Harrier, comedian Hannibal Buress, Orange Is The New Black’s Selenis Leyva, Other People scene-stealer JJ Totah and the phenomenon that is Donald Glover. Not bad, eh?
The fact that I haven’t even mentioned the likes of Robert Downey Jr. and Marisa Tomei is another indication of the sheer size of this ensemble. As overwhelming as it may be to you or I, it clearly wasn’t to Marvel – else Ms. Finn wouldn’t have worked so hard to bring in so many talented performers this month. As always, the quality of a movie isn’t about the production’s appearance on paper, but rather, the execution. Here’s hoping Jon Watts nails it - he has my confidence anyway.
Spider-Man: Homecoming hits theatres July 7, 2017.
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