With “Spider-Man Homecoming” in production and set to premiere in theaters next summer, many interesting facts, casting announcements and speculations have been hitting the web.
While fans have to endure a long wait before the movie premieres, they can still get excited over these eight facts that they might not know about the upcoming movie.
1. Jon Watt’s ridiculous idea became his first film
The 35-year-old director of “Spider-Man Homecoming” got his first movie recognized by a top-notch director by just messing around on the internet. He and his friend Christopher Ford, who Watt had worked with on “The Onion,” were swapping ideas trying to come up with the most ridiculous movie premise imaginable. They came up with a plot about a man who wears a clown suit for his son’s birthday party and eventually starts deteriorating into a psychopath.
Watts and Ford created a fake trailer for the movie on YouTube and humorously credited Eli Roth, the director of “Hostel” and “The Green Inferno” as the director. Roth found out about the trailer, loved the idea and went on to produce Watt’s first movie “The Clown.” While he’s directed several TV movies and shows, “Spider-Man Homecoming” will only be his fourth feature length film, which might be a positive thing considering Marvel wants a fresh take on the character.
2. Donald Glover did voice acting in “The Ultimate Spider-Man”
Many recognize Donald Glover as Troy Barnes in “Community” or as the rapper Childish Gambino, but many also know him as Spider-Man. Glover was a longtime “Spider-Man” fan and he tweeted a couple of years ago about being the lead in “The Amazing Spider-Man” which turned into a full blown Twitter campaign with the hashtag #Donald4spiderman.
While the role eventually went to Andrew Garfield, the campaign put a spotlight on Glover and he was eventually asked to voice the character Miles Morales aside Drake Bell in the animated show “The Ultimate Spider-Man.”
Miles Morales is a teen from Brooklyn who was also bitten by a radioactive spider and acquires abilities like the OG Peter Parker. While the details of his role in the movie are still on the hush-hush, many fans want him to portray Miles Morales. However, he’ll most likely end up playing someone more age appropriate.
3. There might still be a Miles Morales.
Abraham Attah, a 15-year old from Ghana, made his acting debut in Netflix’s “Beasts of No Nation” alongside Idris Alba. The film, along with Attah’s performance, was critically acclaimed, and it was announced in June that he joined the “Spider-Man Homecoming” cast.
While it’s still unknown who he will be, many suggest that he could be Miles Morales because of his race and age. Whether he turns out to be a crime fighter like Peter or just a regular high-schooler, it’s still nice to see more diversity in the movie.
4. The casting is diverse.
This “Spider-man” remake will have more diversity than any of the previous films. Characters that were traditionally Caucasian in the comics such as Liz Allen, Ned Leeds and Flash Thompson are being portrayed by actors of black, Asian and Hispanic descent. Also, many articles strongly suggest that Zendaya will actually be the next Mary-Jane Watson instead of Michelle, the character she was initially announced to portray.
While many are rejoicing over the possible change, a large majority of the internet is furious.
As of now, her role change is still a rumor but if it turns out to be true, it would make her the first black woman to portray Mary-Jane in a “Spider-Man” film. If it means anything, she already has Stan Lee’s blessing.
John Watts credits the diverse casting to the movie being set in Queens.
He told Daily Beast, “Peter Parker goes to high school in Queens, and Queens is one of—if not the—most diverse places in the world. So I just wanted it to reflect what that actually looks like.”
5. Tom Holland visited a hospital in costume.
The friendly neighborhood Spider-Man proved to be friendly in real life too. Tom Holland took a break from filming on August 18th to visit patients of Henrietta Egleston Hospital for Children in Atlanta decked out in his full Spider-Man costume.
He posted adorable photos on Instagram throwing the Spider-Man web sling with little boys and even holding a baby.
6. The film centers around high school.
No one wants to see another adult Spider-Man doing adult things. Unlike the previous “Spider-Man” movies that have hit the big screen so far, “Spider-Man Homecoming” will focus on Peter juggling is normal high school life whilst being a superhero.
This change will definitely bring a youthful energy to the film, make Peter Parker more relatable to younger viewers and bring the excitement of Spider-Man to young viewers who were too young for the previous films.
Director John Watts told The Daily Beast, “It’s been really fun to just look for things that none of the other Spider-Man movies have really explored before, and decide if that’s something we want to work into that. And really making it a high school movie, and committing to that, and not having that just be the beginning of the movie.”
So expect Peter to be chasing down baddies AND finishing his calculus homework on time; I think that’s the type of superhero everyone can look up to.
7. “Homecoming” will be Zendaya’s first feature length film.
“Spider-Man Homecoming” will be the 19-year-old actress’ first feature length film away from Disney.
She has appeared in several Disney Channel movies and short films away from Disney but spidey fans are holding their breaths hoping that Zendaya can perform well away from the overdramatized acting that is frequently seen on TV.
8. There are three new villains.
The Sandman was boring and the Green Goblin is so yesterday, which is why I’m glad that “Spider-Man Homecoming” will feature some brand new villains.
Well, at least new to the moviegoers. The Vulture, played by Michael Keaton, was first featured in one of the earlier issues of the “Amazing Spiderman” comics from the 1960s and constructed wings for himself that allow him to fly, increase his strength and somehow increase his lifespan. The Vulture is expected to be the main villain in the film after he was featured in concept art and a seen in a brief sneak peek shown at Comic-Con.
Bokeem Woodbine will portray Herman Schultz aka the Shocker, a man who created gauntlets that shoot high frequency air blasts. And Michael Chernus joined the cast as Phineas Mason, or the Tinkerer, a technician who builds weapons for criminals. Some fans are worried that the too many villains were the downfall of the past movies, but I have hope that Marvel has learned from their mistakes and will hopefully seamlessly integrate the villains into the movie like in “Captain America: Civil War.”
Despite some of the negative buzz surrounding some of these announcements, dedicated fans such as myself are once again excited to see their favorite web slinger on the big screen again next summer.
