Spider-Man: Far From Home has been playing in theaters since Tuesday, and now director Jon Watts has spoken about the sequel's mid-credits scene for the first time.
We'll have much more from the filmmaker and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige tomorrow, but in this interview the former talks about why they decided to out Spider-Man's secret identity now, introducing a new version of J. Jonah Jameson, how J.K. Simmons reacted to being asked to reprise the role, and even the possibility of a Tobey Maguire cameo somewhere down the line.
It's clear that this mid-credits scene is going to play into the web-slinger's next adventure in a big way, and hearing from Watts definitely sheds some light on the thinking behind it.
So, to check out the interview in full, simply click the "View List" button to check it out...
It Was Meant As A Parallel To Iron Man
Spider-Man: Far From Home deals with the aftermath of
Avengers: Endgame and specifically the death of Peter Parker's mentor, Iron Man. According to Watts, revealing the wall-crawler's secret identity in the mid-credits scene was a deliberate parallel to the Armoured Avengers' first movie when he chose to tell the world that, "I am Iron Man."
"There’s an interesting parallel to Iron Man, where at the end of ‘Iron Man 1,’ Tony Stark chooses to reveal his identity to the public, and that is part of his character transformation," the filmmaker says. "This movie is constantly asking questions — who’s going to be the next Iron Man? … while also dealing with these themes about deception and lying."
As for the decision to have someone else reveal his identity, Watts says it fit within the story to take that choice from him. "Nothing ever goes right for Peter Parker. He just has the worst luck, so we thought that that would be the right way to end it and open up a whole new world of storytelling."
J. Jonah Jameson's Return
The video Mysterio doctored was shared by "controversial news website" TheDailyBugle.net, and J.K. Simmons reprises his role from the original Spider-Man trilogy as a new J. Jonah Jameson.
"It made sense in the context of the story that Peter’s identity would get revealed and someone would still believe that Mysterio was a hero, and we were like, ‘It should be the Daily Bugle, and if it’s going to be the Daily Bugle, it has to be him,’" Watts reveals, referring to Simmons' return.
"That role is so iconic that I just couldn’t imagine it as anyone else."
J.K. Simmons' Response To Being Asked To Return
Simmons' return as J. Jonah Jameson is a legitimate "Holy sh*t!" moment, and while it was definitely a surprise to fans, it was just as surprising to the actor.
"Once we explained the context and how it all fit in, he was really excited," the director says.
"But it was definitely surreal for him."
"It was one of the last things we shot because we wanted to keep it a secret, so he was just there and he just launched right back into the character, and it was incredible."
However, in case it wasn't obvious, Simmons is playing a new version of the character for the MCU.
A New, But Similar, Take On A Familiar Character
The Sam Raimi trilogy of
Spider-Man movies may not be connected to the MCU, but Simmons' take on JJJ really wasn't that different to what we've seen in the past. However, what was important to Watts wasn't getting a totally new take on the character, but modernising the one-time newspaper publisher for today's world, hence why he was similar in some ways to online presenter Alex Jones.
"It’s really kind of strange that his really heightened, cartoonish performance that was so iconic in the Sam Raimi movies now has a real world parallel," Watts said.
"He’s not doing anything different. It’s the world that’s changed."
Will Tobey Maguire Also Return?
The Multiverse isn't real so we're obviously not going to see Tobey Maguire suit up as Spider-Man again, but what about those theories that he could play Uncle Ben or even a pizza delivery guy?
"Yeah, I mean, we brought back J.K. Simmons, so at Marvel I would say anything is on the table," the director teases, making it clear that there could be even more twists to come.
Many thanks to The Huffington Post for the quotes used in this article.
Continue reading below to see how Spider-Man:
Far From Home sets up the hero's MCU future!
Spider-Man: Menace
Thanks to Mysterio's master manipulation, the world believes that he was a hero who saved the world and that Spider-Man killed him because he wants to become the next Tony Stark. A huge part of Quentin Beck's mission here is to prove that people will believe anything they're told, and it's clear now that the public (and authorities) will view the wall-crawler as a menace.
That's something his comic book counterpart has been going through for decades now, and Spidey being chased down by the cops (and even his fellow heroes) is a common sight.
However, the big change here is that his secret identity has also been outed and that's going to change Peter Parker's status quo in a major way; he can't hide behind a mask, and is surely going to have to go on the run. He might deny the accusations, of course, but that would feel like something of a cop out on Marvel's part.
The Daily Bugle Is Back
Perhaps the biggest shocker in the mid-credits scene is the fact that J. Jonah Jameson is back (and played by J.K. Simmons!) and The Daily Bugle is now a website. As of right now, we don't know whether either Jameson or the Bugle will return in the future, as this could have very easily been a one-off cameo to make comic book fans happy.
In the MCU, Peter doesn't have any sort of relationship with Jameson, so including him in future adventures could feel a little forced. However, even just the odd appearance on TV as he continues bashing Spider-Man would be a fun to see, and wouldn't require a lot of time from Simmons. With The Daily Bugle part of this shared world now, though, there are a lot of very exciting possibilities.
Spider-Sense
During the movie's final act, the web-slinger finally gains control of his Spider-Sense (or Peter-Tingle) and uses it to navigate Mysterio's drone attack. There have been hints that it exists before now, but this hopefully means it will play a larger role in his adventures moving forward.
While Spidey being able to dodge every attack would be a little boring, the hero is definitely more confident now and so having the precognitive ability would be an exciting addition and gives Marvel Studios the opportunity to show off an interesting new side to Peter's powers.
Nick Fury...In Space!
The movie's post-credits scene may be played for laughs, but it also reveals that Nick Fury has been commanding a Skrull spaceship in outer space. The fact that Talos and Soren are on Earth doesn't really mean much (especially when they're still heroes and not about to embark on any sort of "Secret Invasion"), but Fury heading into space could definitely come into play somewhere down the line.
After all, it doesn't seem like he's interested in coming home, and after
Captain Marvel was praised for the dynamic between Carol Danvers and the then S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, common sense says we'll see them team-up in the present day, this time on Carol's turf!
Mysterio...Lives?
Mysterio appeared to be dead as a doornail the last time we saw him, but should we really buy into that? After all, this is Quentin Beck, a character who has routinely faked his demise and was even resurrected at one point after blowing his brains out in front of Daredevil.
Seeing as he's responsible for outing Spider-Man's secret identity to the world, there's definitely unfinished business here, and while
Spider-Man: Far From Home doesn't exactly set the stage for the Sinister Six, it would be crazy for Mysterio not to be part of that villainous team.
Kree Sleeper Cells On Earth
During a conversation between Nick Fury (Talos) and Maria Hill (Soren), we learn that there are Kree sleeper cells on Earth. This may seem like a throwaway mention, but Marvel Studios must have known that fans would pick up on this and it's impossible to imagine there not being some sort of pay off.
Captain Marvel 2 seems like the most realistic option, but it could just be that following Thanos' devastating attack on the entire universe, a lot of aliens have now gravitated to our planet. That sets the stage for both the Kree/Skrull War (2?) and even Secret Invasion. We'll have to wait and see.
Aftermath Of The Blip
Spider-Man: Far From Home only briefly touches on the aftermath of
Avengers: Endgame and mostly in a comical fashion. However, it's clear that the world has gone through some changes and it would be very surprising not to see this continue to be touched upon.
While it seems we've already had our answers about how everyone returned after being dusted, the fact that the world thinks Captain America is dead is bound to be addressed in
Falcon & The Winter Soldier on Disney+, and it doesn't seem like a stretch to believe that Doctor Strange might be dealing with an even greater level of guilt than Peter Parker in his sequel over what happened to Iron Man.
Romance For Peter And MJ
MJ may be a very different take on the version of the character we know from the comic books, but she and Peter have clearly fallen for each other and that sets the stage for one of the Marvel Universe's greatest romances to play out in the MCU moving forward.
There's a lot of potential here, especially now that Spider-Man's identity has been outed, and it will be interesting to see the impact that has on their budding romance. Someone not quite so lucky in love is Happy Hogan, as the movie makes it clear that May just viewed their relationship as a summer fling. So, chances are things between them won't continue to develop in future instalments.
Hydro-Man's Return
Shortly after the water Elemental attacks Venice, Flash Thompson reads out a report from Buzzfeed which mistakenly claims that it must have been Morris Bench, a criminal with water powers. There's nothing to say we'll necessarily see the real Hydro-Man enter the MCU, but the fact that he exists is definitely intriguing, and he could easily end up being a member of the Sinister Six or a even just a hired thug.
Time will tell, but with no mention of The Vulture or Scorpion in the movie, there's a strong possibility that this reference to another of Spidey's villains could be more significant than it initially seems.
Avengers Disassembled
One thing that's clear in
Spider-Man: Far From Home is that The Avengers are definitely disassembled, because they're not there to help battle The Elementals and Talos makes it clear at the end of the movie that he had no idea what to tell people when they asked.
It seems Earth's Mightiest Heroes went their separate ways following the events of
Avengers: Endgame, and the stage is now set for a new team to come together...or for a certain villain to create his own dark roster. Either way, while Spidey seemed like a prime candidate to lead the team after getting E.D.I.T.H., there's no way that's happening now he's been framed as a murderer.