It’s not an origin story. It won’t be an origin story. We don’t have to see the origin again. No matter how you slice it, the next time we see Spider-Man on screen in a movie, we will not have to endure the spider bite, the creation of a costume, or the murder of poor Uncle Ben again. And information we’re hearing today only backs this truth up, once again.
Spider-Man is expected to surface in Joe and Anthony Russo’s Captain America: Civil War, which opens in theaters next May. The movie already is overstuffed with heroes, villains and subplots, so adding Spider-Man’s origin story to the menu would be a very bad idea. Which is why Heroic Hollywood today is reporting that by the time we see Spidey (played by Tom Holland) in the Captain America sequel, he will have been acting as a costumed crimefighter for "a little over a year." They also say that much like The Batman, Spider-Man will be viewed by the general public as a myth.
And, likely, a menace – if the MCU finds space for a J. Jonah Jameson. (Do it!)
This is encouraging news. While it has been hinted at for some time that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man will be very young (in high school) and relatively inexperienced, this news at least suggests that we won’t have to deal with multiple, redundant scenes of a new Peter Parker being amazed at his overnight powers. This also means that it likely won’t be too strange if and when Spider-Man either: a) fends off attacks from Captain America (Chris Evans) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) as they deal with this emerging superpower, or; b) jumps into a battle alongside The Avengers against Crossbones (Frank Grillo) or Baron Zemo (Daniel Bruhl). If Spidey has been practicing on villains for a year, he’ll be ready for a scrap.
The report goes on to say that when Tom Holland takes over the role for the as-yet-untitled Spider-Man solo movie, he will have been fighting crime fro two years… which, when you think about it, is the equivalent of beginning a franchise with a sequel. And because we have had 5 Spider-Man movies to date (and thousands upon thousands of comic books detailing his adventures), this is absolutely the right way for Sony and Marvel to handle the hero’s introduction into the MCU. Hit the ground running. Er, swinging. You get the idea.
Spider-Man will be a small part of Captain America: Civil War, hitting theaters on May 6, 2016. That will be followed by a standalone Spider-Man movie on July 28, 2017.
