In Jon Watts’ Spider-Man: Far From Home, audiences get to learn a bit more about the life of Peter’s teacher, Mr. Harrington, and it turns out that he is a pretty miserable dude. For example, he made a discovery that his ex-wife didn’t actually disappear during The Blip, but instead was secretly living away from him for more than five years.
It’s a bit of funny dark humor in the Marvel Studios film, but there’s a funny bit of extra trivia surrounding it that you may not quite fully know. Namely, not only was a similar bit originally orchestrated for Mr. Harrington in the making of the sequel’s predecessor, Spider-Man: Homecoming, but it was material that hit the cutting room floor because it was deemed “too sad.”
I learned about this funny story direct from the source last week, as I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with Mr. Harrington himself, Martin Starr, at Spider-Man: Far From Home’s home video press day in Los Angeles. The actor was paired for interviews with J.B. Smoove, who plays fellow teacher Mr. Dell in the new release, and it was actually the Curb Your Enthusiasm star who originally brought up Harrington’s miserable life, leading Starr to reveal,
They tried to squeeze that [joke] into the first one, not the blip stuff, but just the wreck of a person he was, going through a divorce and stuff. And then in the second one they really got to put it back. I think it ended up being a DVD extra on Homecoming. It was a very funny bit, and luckily we had done other things. For some reason, when that was all edited together they felt it was I think just too sad. This is a sad guy.
As noted by the actor, there are indeed deleted scenes of Mr. Harrington on the Spider-Man: Homecoming home video release, and they’re specifically labeled “Mr. Harrington’s Lessons In Love” – which is most definitely meant to be an ironic title. While the material isn’t technically canon anymore, it’s a great running bit that shows that the high school teacher definitely isn’t doing too well following things getting a bit rocky with his wife, Tabitha.
It’s actually really funny stuff, but apparently that may suggest that my soul is made of darkness, because apparently the Spider-Man: Homecoming filmmakers felt it went just a touch too far.
The good news is that there was still plenty of alternate material that allowed Martin Starr to continue to have a significant part in the first Marvel Studios solo Spidey film – and it opened the door for the joke to continue in Spider-Man: Far From Home. Of course, one of the big differences between the two movies is the concept of The Blip being introduced, and that provided a setup that allowed Mr. Harrington to spin comedy gold.
When all is said and done, the man has definitely lived a rich and adventurous life. Not only do his high school teaching experiences regularly feature cameos from Spider-Man, but let’s not forget that this is a guy who was delivered a free pizza from The Incredible Hulk when he was still in college.
This is one of many funny behind the scenes stories from the making of Spider-Man: Far From Home, and now audiences everywhere have their chance to dive into the creation of the film via the movie’s many special features on home video. The huge blockbuster is now out in Digital, and on 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD, and available anywhere you buy movies. It’s a fantastic release, so you should really check it out – and also be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more exciting and exclusive details, as we always have more to come!
