Throughout almost every incarnation of
Spider-Man, the death of Peter Parker's Uncle Ben and its impact on the young hero have remained the backbone of the character's story. Sam Raimi's first
Spider-Man film adapted the tragedy in a poignant manner, and the following reboot,
The Amazing Spider-Man, also visualized the character's death with mixed reception. With Tom Holland's take on the webslinger set to swing into theatres in a few months in
Spider-Man: Homecoming, some have wondered how - or even if - the film will explore the ramifications of Uncle Ben's death.
According to director Jon Watts, the film will have a mention of Ben, but it's not an element that he wanted to focus on.
“They talk about that, absolutely. It’s not… it’s not a huge thing that I want to go into too much, but there is an acknowledgment that there was a Ben,” Watts told press during a set visit.
The director elaborated that while the implication of Ben's death is present, he didn't want the spectre of that tragedy hanging over the lighter tone of the film, or to have it clash with Peter's misguided goal of being a hero just so he can be recognized as an Avenger.
“I mean, we’re implying he’s dead. We have not at all, again, gone into trying to change his origin story as far as I have been envisioning it. But we, just again, we thought that to keep this fun, light tone, as soon as they have to have their, like, ‘Let’s remember our dearly departed father figure’ – it derails that a little. And again, what we’re trying to tell is this sort of fun story of the kid who is doing all the wrong things for the right reasons. And once you do that, it stops becoming a sort of fun movie about a kid trying to be a kid. He’s mourning the loss of a parent.”
As for
Tony Stark/Iron Man, many fans have expressed some dismay over the Avenger's precense in the film, feeling it may detract from this new Spider-Man's story. It's not a completely unreasonable assumption to make, as Robert Downey Jr.'s status in the MCU qualifies him for more than just a small cameo role. However, according to co-producer Eric Carroll, Downey Jr.
“might be in like five or six [scenes]”. So at this point, it's safe to say the film will still be very Spidey-focused.
Tom Holland also explained the nature of Peter and Tony's relationship, which he ended up likening to a brotherly bond than the fatherly one that most have assumed is happening.
“I think we’re seeing the beginning of a sort of father-son relationship. Obviously Tony hasn’t got any kids, and Peter at this point hasn’t got any male figures in his life, so I think there’s a really lovely dynamic that Robert and I are forming. And, no, let me take that back. I think Robert is more like a big brother than he is a father figure because he picks on him and he is down on him quite a lot. But then there is that level of him caring about him like his own, and Robert has really brought something lovely to the character. It’s a very different side of Stark than you’ve ever seen before.”
Let us know what you make of this new information in the comments!
Spider-Man: Homecoming swings into theatres on
July 7, 2017.
A young Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland), who made his sensational debut in Captain America: Civil War, begins to navigate his newfound identity as the web-slinging super hero in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, Peter returns home, where he lives with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), under the watchful eye of his new mentor Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.). Peter tries to fall back into his normal daily routine – distracted by thoughts of proving himself to be more than just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man – but when the Vulture (Michael Keaton) emerges as a new villain, everything that Peter holds most important will be threatened.