'Spider-Man: Homecoming': What we know about the film so far
Peter Parker's getting a big technology upgrade thanks to Tony Stark, and with all these villains, he's going to need it.
- Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year" award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Warning: Possible spoilers for "Spider-Man: Homecoming."
Peter Parker's a smart guy, but the new trailer for Marvel's "Spider-Man: Homecoming," released Wednesday, shows that his new Spidey suit might be too smart even for him.
"Good evening, Peter," his outfit tells him in a calm computerized voice, "You have 576 possible web-shooter combinations." Naturally, the teen geek is thrilled, but the rest of the trailer -- including a swimming-pool bath at a party -- shows it's going to take him a while to get those combos under control. (He also gets a parachute and a cute little spider-shaped drone, we learn later in the trailer. That's good tech.)
"Spider-Man: Homecoming" opens July 7 in the US and UK, and on July 6 in Australia, but while we're waiting, here's a look at some of what we already know.
That Stark 'internship' is going to take some work
The relationship between Parker/Spidey (Tom Holland) and Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) is one of the best things about the preview footage. Parker calls Avengers' missions "retreats" and thinks Stark is hugging him when he's just opening the car door, and in exchange, Stark enables a "training wheels" protocol limiting the teen's access to his suit's full-on super functions. Downey's wry humor as the big man on campus to Holland's A.V. Club president hits just the right note, as it's probably exactly how Downey would treat a worshipful kid in real life.
Spidey's really good at hiding his secret identity
Seriously, would you believe the clumsy kid with the locker next to yours was a superhero? Unlikely, and Holland has the mad skillz for secret-identity protection in real life, too. When the British actor went undercover at a high school in the Bronx to get the feel of American education, he confided that he was actually Spider-Man, and a fellow student told him he was crazy.
Women abound in Peter's world
So is Zendaya's Michelle really a code name for Mary Jane Watson? Or Gwen Stacy, as some have suggested? We don't know yet, but while you're speculating about the women in Peter's life, don't forget Liz Allan (played by Laura Harrier in the movie), described by the studio as his classmate and love interest. For a goofball, he sure is surrounded by lovely ladies. Both actresses are women of color and they've tweeted about being resigned to being mixed up.
Australian actress Angourie Rice (who's in Sofia Coppola's "The Beguiled") is also in the movie, with a supposed leaked cast list saying she's playing comics character Betty Brandt (possibly spelled Brant), an early love interest of Parker. And of course, some rumors claim that list is a feint and she's really Gwen Stacy. Fans reeeeally want someone to be Gwen Stacy, apparently.
He may be still learning, but don't think he's a pushover
This is still Spider-Man, we're talking about. He shows no fear when up against a gang of criminals who are wearing cheap Avengers masks. "You guys aren't the real Avengers, Hulk gives it away," he tsk-tsks before taking them down. Of course, the battle doesn't quite turn out as he hoped, but how dull would the movie be if he was a pro from the start?
Everybody needs a best friend
It's hard not to like Ned (Jacob Batalon), Parker's high-school best friend, who destroys the Death Star (oh, OK, it's a Lego version) when he discovers his pal's secret identity. Stark might get frustrated with Parker's steep learning curve, and other students might not believe he has superpowers, but Ned gets the inside scoop, and he's just as worshipful as the real Peter would want. At least someone appreciates him. Although a last name hasn't officially been given for Ned, there is a Ned Leeds in the comic books who seems likely to be this character's name inspiration. (And the supposed leaked cast list confirms Leeds as Ned's last name.)
Jacob Batalon plays Ned, Spider-Man's best high-school friend. They've probably played some D&D in their day.
Hey, aren't you...
And Ned may seem familiar to comics readers for another reason. As played by Batalon, he looks and acts similarly to the comic character Ganke Lee, who was the best friend of the character Miles Morales, who also took on the role of Spider-Man. "It was bizarre and flattering," Lee's creator, Brian Michael Bendis, told the Ultimate Spin podcast. "I don't even know if Ganke was the inspiration, or they just got to their own place with a character like this on their own."
Flash-forward
Tony Revolori ("Grand Budapest Hotel") plays Flash Thompson, famed for bullying Peter Parker in the comics. Revolori is Guatemalan-American, adding to the movie's diversity. "What (director) Jon (Watts) has told us is he wants to cast people who would really be in Queens right now, and that's us," Revolori said at Comic-Con last summer.
The big bads
No "Mr. Mom" jokes: Michael Keaton is playing Adrian Toomes, aka Vulture. The latest international trailer, released Wednesday, reveals that Toomes runs a salvage company. When his crew went to pick up after the battle from 2012's "Avengers," he used some of the Chitauri alien tech to create his own gigantic and powerful Vulture suit -- and that's not all he made. "Someone is collecting stuff from Avengers battles and building these crazy weapons," Parker says. Turns out Toomes was enjoying a little respite from Avengers problems, thinks Spidey is the cause of his recent issues, and now he's gunning for the little twerp.
And he's not the only one causing Spider-Man problems. Bokeem Woodbine ("Fargo") is playing comic villain Herman Schultz, aka Shocker. Woodbine's character was revealed five months ago in an international trailer -- and apparently in these leaked set photos. In the comics, Schultz is a high-school dropout turned inventor who developed a pair of gauntlets that shoot high-frequency vibrating air blasts.
Really like the idea of Shocker's character? How about two, then? According to Nerdist, Logan Marshall-Green (Charlie Holloway in "Prometheus") is also playing Shocker, but the version of that villain whose human identity was Jackson "Montana" Brice. Because comic books, that's why.
And just to make sure Spidey doesn't have a spare second to study for his Spanish quiz, Michael Chernus ("Orange is the New Black') plays Phineas Mason/Tinkerer, who works with Keaton's Toomes, according to ComicBook.com.
Family first
Spider-Man's origin tale is well-known, but "Homecoming" shakes it up a little bit. Marisa Tomei is playing Peter Parker's Aunt May. Tomei is 52, a perfectly acceptable age to be an aunt to a teen, but because the comic-book Aunt May was older and white-haired, there's been backlash. Tyne Daly has also been cast
in the film -- and honestly, she looks more like the book version of Aunt May. Her character's name hasn't been revealed yet, but could she fit into the Parker family tree somewhere? Great-Aunt May, maybe?
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