We're slowly but surely getting more details about the upcoming Spider-Man solo film. That's the movie that will represent Sony Pictures' third attempt to make a Spider-Man movie franchise work. This time, however, they have the ability to use the Marvel Studios name, a name that has come to mean making character-based movies with the ability to intertwine into a greater cinematic universe. Previously, Sony had hoped to spin Spider-Man off into other movies, now his reboot will technically be a spin-off of an existing universe in it's third "phase."
What we know about the solo Spider-Man movie is that it is scheduled to be released in July of 2017, it will be directed by Jon Watts (director, Cop Car) and will star Tom Holland (as Peter Parker), Marisa Tomei (as Aunt May) and a Disney channel star called Zendaya (who will be playing a character named Michelle).
Right now, Captain America: Civil War has had its world premiere which means the press onslaught has begun. In this film, Tom Holland is introduced as Peter/Spider-Man and recruited by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) to be on Team Iron Man. That means, yes, we have avoided a third cinematic retelling of Spider-Man's origin story. We will not see Uncle Ben shot by anyone in Captain America: Civil War, what we'll see is a fully formed Spider-Man.
The writers of Civil War, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, talked to Uproxx about adding Spider-Man to the movie[1]. "It's a gift," said Markus, "with everyone sick of him being introduced, you very nearly don't have to introduce him." McFeely added: "It's almost a cheat."
Kevin Feige, head of Marvel Studios, has said that we're not going to revisit Uncle Ben's death in the Sony Spider-Man movie and explains that Marvel Studios cast Tom Holland and is helping with the script, but it will be a Sony Pictures production. That seems like semantics at this point, especially since Feige has also said that other Marvel Cinematic Universe characters will end up crossing over into the Spider-Man movie (or, if Sony gets their way, movies – plural). Feige and Marvel Studios recently moved to the Disney lot and out from under the umbrella of the company Marvel's oversight. Marvel's CEO Ike Perlmutter still has control of the comics and the television branch of the MCU, consisting of four Netflix series and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC. For a lot of business reasons, that means we're unlikely to meet TV Marvel characters in Spider-Man, just the movie ones.
Recently, Sony went on a URL buying spree of several Spider-Man titles. The first one to be discovered is rumored to actually be the working title of the film SpiderManHomecomingTheMovie.com[2]. Spider-Man: Homecoming as a title could have a lot of cool meanings; a meta comment on the character returning to the Marvel Universe; an actual adaptation of the The Amazing Spider-Man issue #252 story "Homecoming" with Peter coming back from the Secret Wars; a reference to this Spider-Man being a teenager in High School who might have to actually attend Homecoming while being a superhero.
The official title treatment for Spider-Man: Homecoming
UPDATE: At a Sony panel Tuesday night in Las Vegas, the title of the film was officially announced as Spider-Man: Homecoming and the title treatment for the film was unveiled. This is our first look at the Marvel Spider-Man font and the fun classic Spider-Man symbol replacing the "o" in Homecoming.
Original post continues below.
The newest bit of information about the new Spider-Man movie is a rumor coming out of CinemaCon, the currently-running convention for theater owners held every year in Las Vegas. Apparently someone let loose some lips about Sony's plans for their solo Spider-Man film to Birth Movies Death's Devin Faraci and those plans say The Vulture will appear as a villain in the film.
The Vulture will be in this movie. Will he be the main baddie? Will he be a villain Spidey has to defeat in an opening scene? I don't know, although old rumors that passed by my ears indicated a non-main villain role for the old bird.
The Vulture was almost going to be the villain for Spider-Man 4, back before Sam Raimi bailed on the franchise after being forced to use Venom in Spider-Man 3 to poor reception. That version of Spider-Man would have featured John Malkovich as The Vulture who would eventually pass on his flying Vulture suit to Anne Hathaway, who was rumored to be playing a new villain called "The Vultress."
The Vulture would have been part of Sony's last attempt to make a Spider-Man series as hinted at by the credits scene and actual credits graphics for Amazing Spider-Man 2, which suggested he would be part of a future Sinister Six team of villains.
None of that came to pass, so The Vulture became one of Spider-Man's villains to never get an on-screen adaptation (also Mysterio and Kraven would have been in the ASM2 line-up, those guys keep getting the shaft). Sounds like old Adrian Toomes might finally get promoted to the big leagues, even if it is as a side villain.
Maybe John Malkovich can even take another run at it?
References
- ^ talked to Uproxx about adding Spider-Man to the movie (uproxx.com)
- ^ SpiderManHomecomingTheMovie.com (SpiderManHomecomingTheMovie.com)
Source → Will 2017�s Spider-Man movie feature The Vulture?
