After five films with Sony/Columbia Pictures, Spider-Man web-slings his way to where he belongs–into the MCU–with Spider-Man: Homecoming!
On July 7th, Spider-Man: Homecoming hits theaters as the latest Marvel movie in the expanding MCU, Marvel’s cinematic universe. And Homecoming as the title is very appropriate. Not yet knowing how that title plays into the film, it’s a very on-the-nose nod to the fact that this movie has been a long time coming. And at long last it’s here, fresh after his cameo in Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man joins the pantheon of heroes like The Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy in a cohesive Marvel universe.
What a long, strange road it’s been.
2001 – 2007
Spider-Man made his big screen debut in the summer of 2001, and was one of the first group of Marvel movies in theaters. Others at that time were X-Men (2000), Hulk (2003) and Daredevil (2003), though none of which were through Marvel Studios proper, which had not yet been established. Spider-Man was in the hands of Columbia Pictures and was an entity all on its own.
Casting Tobey Maguire in the title role of Peter Parker, the tale was woven around his very familiar origin story. Playing the role of the iconic villain, Green Goblin, was Willem Dafoe in an incredible performance. Combined with the skill of director Sam Raimi and musical composer Danny Elfman, a Marvel masterpiece was born. It had a lot of heart, and stayed pretty true to the original story from all the way back in 1962. Spring boarding off the success, two more would be released during this time period. Classic villains were brought in to up the ante, such as Doctor Octopus, Venom and Sandman and help give it that comic book feel. All the traditional Spider-Man tropes were present; quips, one liners and all the fancy web-swinging you could want or need. It made for a really solid trilogy, with Spider-Man 3 out grossing it’s two predecessors.
Which made the cancellation of Spider-Man 4 all the harder to understand.
Sam Raimi was all set to direct the fourth sequel. All the actors were on board. So what went wrong?
Disagreements between Sony and Raimi, and pressure to produce a good script prevented the project from taking off. Disappointingly, Spider-Man 4 was no more, and plans were already under way to reboot the franchise entirely.
2012 – 2014
The rebooted franchise kicked off in 2012 with The Amazing Spider-Man. This time with Andrew Garfield playing the wise cracking web-slinger. Facing off against the teenage hero this time was Dr. Curt Connors a.k.a the Lizard. Once again covering the origin of his super-powers, Peter was now paired up with Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. Gwen was Peter’s first love originally in the comics, so this aspect was a little more rooted in the lore than the 2002 Spider-Man.
Another significant addition from this movie, and 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, was a more in-depth look at Peter’s parents. Not tackled in the previous trilogy, these two movies further delved into the “why” behind Peter living with his Aunt and Uncle.
The sequel laid the groundwork for more movies exploring this iteration of the character plus it’s own set of spin off films. In the attempt to build it’s own universe, and in varying stages of discussion were films for the Sinister Six and Venom. But due to mixed reviews on The Amazing Spider-Man 2 all future projects were put on hold, and would ultimately fall through.
In 2014, due to leaked emails from a hacker attack at Sony, light was shed on discussions between Sony and Marvel Studios. Spider-Man was coming home.
2015 And Beyond
Finally Kevin Feige, head of Marvel Studios, did it. An agreement was struck.
With Spider-Man firmly in the hands of Marvel Studios, production on Spider-Man: Homecoming began.
But first; a cameo.
The opportunity arose to debut the new Spider-Man, played now by actor Tom Holland, in the third Captain America movie; Captain America: Civil War. In Civil War, Tony Stark recruits Peter Parker to help him and his faction of Avengers to bring in Steve Rogers. The battle that ensued was explosive, and gave viewers something that they hadn’t had before with the others. Interaction with other superheros. Such a huge part of Spider-Man in the comics made the transition to the screen. His inclusion was carefully executed, and gave a great tease at what was coming down the line.
This time around, Jon Watts is handling directing duties with the score being done by Michael Giacchino. And filling out the rest of the cast are names like Michael Keaton, Marisa Tomei and Zendaya.
Spider-Man: Homecoming looks to be the truest adaption of this treasured character. Just inhabiting the same universe as Iron Man and Thor breathes so much more into his story. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has consistently pumped out some great movies, and have added another winner to their roster. Future Avengers movies, like the upcoming Infinity War, will now see Spider-Man join the fight as he rightfully should.
Make sure to welcome Spider-Man home when Spider-Man: Homecoming drops on July 7th.
Mike Harris hails from the suburbs of Chicago and has been a fan for most of his life. Working as an industrial radiographer and raising a family with his wife take up most of his time, but there’s always room for Star Wars books and podcasts! Just looking to give back to Star Wars and the fan community, it’s been a source of fun and learning for him for so long.