It's not uncommon for multiple people to be involved in writing a script at different times. However, when more people get involved, it often means that a script is having difficulties. This may be bad news for Spider-Man: Homecoming. According to Marvel, the current screenplay for the wall-crawler's return has had at least six people be part of it.
Back when the first steps were being taken on Spider-Man: Homecoming, Marvel hired Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, the directors of Horrible Bosses, to pen the script. Those were the only writers that had been attached to the project, however, it turns out there have been several others. ComicBookMovie.com points out that director Jon Watts, and his frequent collaborator, Christopher Ford, also have credits. Finally, Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers, the pair behind the upcoming Jumanji remake have also been involved, making for 3 writing pairs in total.
That's a lot of writers. Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley were an interesting choice to pen the Spider-Man: Homecoming movie, still, Marvel must have seen something in them to give them the nod in the first place. However, one has to assume that their script was seen as needing something if the additional help was brought in.
It's not clear what order these pairs attacked the script in, or how much impact they had on the final version. If they all currently have writing credits, that means that something they did is in the final version or at least the current version, but it's possible that they only had a minor impact. Jon Watts and Christopher Ford have worked on a few of Watts previous directorial efforts, like Cop Car, so it's not that unusual for them to work on Spider-Man: Homecoming. They could have made some very simple tweaks in order to make the movie fit Watts' directing a little bit better.
When new writers come on board an existing project, they have a tendency to obliterate everything that came before them, meaning that the final script because something totally different and wholly original. In this case, the basic script has apparently remained intact, since Jonathan Goldstein and John Daley are still credited. One of the areas where films can be frequently "punched up" is in the humor department. Since Marvel brought the Horrible Bosses team on board to start, and then added those behind the Jack Black, Kevin Hart-starring Jumanji\_,_ it's possible that Marvel is looking to wake Spider-Man: Homecoming a lighter film, something in the vein of Guardians of the Galaxy or Ant-Man. Maybe the changes have been something as simple as improving the quips that Spider-Man uses while fighting crime.
What do you think of all these writers? Is this a sign that Marvel is having difficulty with the Spider-Man: Homecoming script? We'll find out for sure next summer.
