2019 is flying by, and it's hard to believe that
Avengers: Endgame has been and gone, while
Spider-Man: Far From Home is now right around the corner. The Sony Pictures/Marvel Studios produced sequel will give us our first look at a post-Endgame Marvel Cinematic Universe, and takes the wall-crawler on an overseas adventure that will see him discover the existence of the Multiverse.
As a result, this movie may have bigger ramifications for future stories than we thought, and providing this isn't a Mandarin-style swerve, we can expect some huge surprises which set the stage for a wealth of new stories moving into Phase 4.
Now, a new batch of character posters have been revealed and they provide a fresh look at Peter Parker (Tom Holland), Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), MJ (Zendaya), and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). They're clearly
Far From Home's leads, but it is a little disappointing that the likes of Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) and Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) are nowhere to be seen.
To check out this gallery of posters, all you need to do is hit the "View List" button below.
Peter Parker's new suit is being featured heavily in marketing materials and it's easy to see why; it looks spectacular! What we don't know is whether this was one of Iron Man's final creations before his death or if Spidey is about to start making his own costumes using his deceased mentor's technology.
Is this Nick Fury or Chameleon in disguise? Speculation continues to run rampant, but just like Marvel Studios surprised us by making the Skrulls the heroes, it seems that may be too obvious.
An alternative possibility is that this is an evil Nick Fury who hails from Quentin Beck's world!
While there's nothing wrong with Marvel Studios doing something new with Mary Jane Watson in the MCU, that "MJ" reveal at the end of
Spider-Man: Homecoming was kind of cringeworthy. Regardless, Peter's romance with his classmate looks set to continue in this sequel and it will be interesting to find out if Michelle ends up getting any closer to her comic book counterpart here.
As of right now, Mysterio is a very...mysterious character!
His powers appear to be magic-based and he claims to be from an alternate Earth (one comic book fans know is also home to Spider-UK). While he's being portrayed as a hero in
Far From Home, there's clearly more to Quentin Beck than meets the eye and we should expect some big twists.
The contrast here is very different. While Sony Pictures clearly isnt putting a huge amount of effort into the posters for
Spider-Man: Far From Home, the first highlight's the wall-crawler's emblem, while the second puts the spotlight on Mysterio's mystical powers. It's now hard not to wonder whether Marvel Studios is considering delving into the magical side of Peter's powers during this tale.
Continue reading below for a recap of Spider-Man: Far From Home
reveals from the latest issue of Empire Magazine!
Spider-Man, No More?
In the first
Spider-Man: Far From Home trailer, it appeared as if Peter Parker had no interest in taking his costumed alter-ego to Europe and some fans even wondered if the events of
Avengers: Endgame had taken their toll on the wall-crawler, leading to him (temporarily) abandoning the mantle.
However, Watts makes it clear that this isn't a retread of the "Spider-Man, No More" moment from
Spider-Man 2.
"We tried not to be melodramatic in that way," he laughs.
"You have a lot of things that have been done very successfully in the past, so you consciously avoid them. This is just for a week. Peter wants to go on vacation. He's earned it."
When Does The Movie Take Place?
With Watts confirming that this trip only lasts for a week, Feige shed some more light on the setting and it sounds like Marvel Studios may have abandoned the idea of jumping to a different year in Peter Parker's high school life going from film to film.
"We had talked about, do the Spider-Man films take place in his sophomore year/junior year/senior year, Harry Potter style?" However, it was then that the idea of a summer break came to mind.
"We started homing in on that idea of the class trip. How do you continue the fun of a kid in high school with his high school friends?"
Getting London Right
Thor: The Dark World came under fire for it's geographically incorrect take on London, and Watts confirms that they looked at that movie when it came to making sure they got the city right this time around.
"I think we got our London geography right. You don't put Big Ben next to Tower Bridge and hope no one will notice!"
When he was quizzed about a recent poster for
Spider-Man: Far From Home which had the London Eye the wrong way around, he laughed:
"I did not approve that!"
A Different Take On MJ
It's now become clear that Michelle/MJ is a new take on Mary Jane Watson, and after being described as being
"a lot more Ally Sheedy in our movies" by Watts, Zendaya adds:
"She's not the coolest girl in school, she's not the prom queen, she's not popular. Exploring that dynamic between two oddballs and loners is cool."
Producer Amy Pascal, meanwhile, notes that
"The movie is about [Peter] wanting to get together with the girl. That's what makes him want to go on this trip."
Peter Parker's Relationship With Nick Fury
We've already heard that Spider-Man's relationship with the former S.H.I.E.L.D. Director isn't quite as cordial as the one he had with Iron Man, and Holland has now shed even more light on that.
"The relationship between Peter and Tony is admiration," he explains.
"The relationship between Peter and Nick Fury is more fear. I think he's a little bit terrified of him. When he shows up, it's no joke. He knows this isn't some silly mission. He knows the stakes are real and it's time to step up."
Why The Wall-Crawler Heads Overseas
Explaining that the idea to take Spidey "Far From Home" came during
Spider-Man: Homecoming's international press tour, Watts elaborates on why he wanted to put the wall-crawler in new settings.
"Seeing Spider-Man in Venice was always on the list. I've seen Spider-Man swinging over buildings, but not over canals. We loved the idea of a big night festival going on in Prague, a beautiful medieval city."
The Elementals
While we recently learned that The Elementals known as Hydro-Man and Molten Man aren't necessarily the characters we know from the comics, Watts confirms that he wanted to deliver a new take on some lower tier bad guys from the hero's rogues gallery.
"I wanted to figure out if there was a way to take some more of the definitely B and C level villains and bring them to life in a way that's surprisingly cool. Who are people not going to expect?"
Spider-Man Vs. VFX
Of course, the possible downside of having Spider-Man face a group of VFX bad guys is that he'll be squaring off with huge CG monsters as opposed to an opponent who is a little more grounded. Watts relished the challenge.
"It opens up a new style of combat for Spider-Man when you have bigger creatures, or a creature that's so hot he can't get close to him because it melts his webs."
"Or a water creature that you can't punch because you go right through it," he adds.
Jake Gyllenhaal Reflects On Not Being Spider-Man
When Tobey Maguire injured his back, Sony Pictures considered replacing him in
Spider-Man 2 with Jake Gyllenhaal. That didn't happen, of course, but he's obviously now entering the wall-crawler's world by playing Mysterio.
"I guess you could say that, when you work long enough, stories ten to come back around. There was a beautiful thing that happened here."
However, he doesn't believe that had he been able to play Spidey, he would have done half as good a job as Tom Holland.
"Watching Tom Holland, I have to say that I wouldn't have held a candle."
Why He Chose Now To Board A Superhero Project
It seems like Gyllenhaal has spent years avoiding big budget blockbusters, so how did Marvel Studios finally convince him to change his mind? Feige confirms that
"we met with him on some Marvel Studios movies long after Spider-Man 2 and just never found the right timing or the right thing," presumably alluding to those
Doctor Strange rumours.
As for Gyllenhaal, he says:
"Why now? This was a really interesting take on the characters. I really loved it, and thought, 'Let's have a little fun.'"
Mysterio Is Indeed A Hero Now
"In the comics, he's a washed up old stuntman who uses gas and puts springs in his shoes to to try to trick people," Watts explains, making it clear that some changes needed to be made.
"The idea of Mysterio as a hero was something we had never explored before," he continued.
"Having the power of Marvel behind you means that you can make those crazy swaps. You'd hope there's a little more to it that it seems with Mysterio. But we went with Mysterio being a hero, which I thought would really surprise people. Mysterio was always at the top of the list."
As for Gyllenhaal, he adds:
"Villain or hero, I don't think that's how you can define him."
Including The Helmet
One of the best reveals from
Spider-Man: Far From Home has been the fact Mysterio has his classic helmet.
"That was so fun to design," says Watts.
"You take away the fish bowl, that's not Mysterio. It's such a classic design. It's my favourite design of all the Spider-Man characters."
Quentin Beck Fills The Void Left By Iron Man
"The relationship on the page changed when Jake and I met each other and became very fast friends," Holland explains shortly after revealing that Mysterio ends up being a substitute for Iron Man.
"So you get to see two people become really quick friends, and teammates essentially. It's kind of like a two-hander between Jake and I."
"It's a pretty fun ride to see this kind of back and forth banter between these two superheroes, fighting these crazy monsters."
What Jake Gyllenhaal Learned From Tom Holland
When those comments were made known to Gyllenhaal, he had nothing but good things to say about his co-star.
"Yeah, but Tom had a lot to teach me too."
"It's a whole new world to me. We became friends through the process of making the movie. It doesn't just work one way. It works both ways. That's what I like about it. Peter and Spider-Man have a lot to teach people, particularly in terms of friendship and giving."
No, Tom Didn't "Accidentally" Reveal The Film's Title
Tom Holland has become well-known for seemingly dropping MCU spoilers, but did he really reveal the sequel's title by mistake on Instagram last June?
"That was totally planned!" the actor confirms.
"That was a complete press stunt," he continues.
"I'm so cautious with what I put online when it comes to spoilers and stuff. Come on there's now way I would do that. I'm way better with spoilers that Mark Ruffalo - I love him, but he's a terrible spoiler. Sometimes they pair us together because it's easier to control one source than have both of us out there."