In about a week's time, Spider-Man: Homecoming will finally arrive in theaters. And with Peter Parker now a major player in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we should expect more solo films, jam packed with iconic villains from the pages of the comics. But considering that two major Spider-Man franchises have been in theaters lately, there are certain villains that have already lived on the silver screen- possibly twice. So should we expect characters like the Green Goblin, Lizard, and Doctor Octopus to show up in future Spider-Man movies? Probably not.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has been making the rounds ahead of Spider-Man: Homecoming's release. And in a recent interview about the future of the franchise, Feige revealed how Marvel and Sony want to introduce new villains that haven't yet been adapted for film.
What's fun about this is it's the first time Spider-Man is in the MCU. And the first time he's played by an actor who is the age, essentially, Spidey was in the comics for so long. And, as Michael Keaton does with the Vulture, we get to explore villains we haven't seen before. Spidey has an amazing rogues gallery, so at some point I think it might be interesting to revisit some of the characters we've seen in films before, but right now, we think there are a lot of new ones we haven't played with yet.
Apologies to fans of Harry and Norman Osborn, because it looks like the MCU won't be including characters that have already had their time on the big screen.
Kevin Feige's comments to HeyUGuys makes a great deal of sense. Although Spider-Man is one of the most popular Marvel characters of all time, we've seen two blockbuster franchise hit theaters over the past few years. Additionally, both of those franchises included appearances by The Green Goblin, one of Spidey's most iconic villains. So Marvel's plan to stay away from these overused characters is a great way to ensure that the newest Spider-Man is wholly unique, and avoids being lumped in with the previous two.
And Spider-Man has no lack of interesting villains that could be played with. Actor Tom Holland has been very open about which characters he'd like to battle in the future, and it seems like every few months he adds another to his bucket list. Personally, I'd love to see one of the more intriguing characters like Mysterio make an appearance, as a psychological villain would be a nice change of pace. That, or Kraven the Hunter so the superpowered teenager can go from having all the power to being stalked by a deadly killer.
Spider-Man: Homecoming will swing into theaters on July 7th. In the meantime, be sure to check our full 2017 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
