It wasn’t that long ago that it looked like Tom Holland’s Spider-Man would leave the Marvel Cinematic Universe due to financial disagreements between Disney and Sony. The two sides eventually came back together and reached a new deal, so Spidey will be sticking around this continually-expanding world for a little while longer.
As Ben Mendelsohn, who debuted as Skrull leader Talos in Captain Marvel and made a surprise appearance at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, sees it, it’s wonderful that Spider-Man will be staying in the MCU, as he’s too important to let go. As the actor succinctly and explicitly put it:
I think what happens in these things is, most of the time, cooler heads prevail. Sometimes we end up in a situation which feels like it’s going to be the lead up to World War I. But shit, man. You can’t lose Spider-Man from the Marvel universe. He’s one of their absolute motherfucking pornstars.
Spider-Man has gone by a lot of nicknames over the years: Web-Slinger, Wall-Crawler, Menace, but I think this is the first time that anyone’s referred to the hero as a “motherfucking pornstar.” I’ll leave any web-shooting jokes for you readers to share in the comments, but suffice it to say that Ben Mendelsohn is astounded that Spidey’s MCU future was ever in question.
He added to Metro that he could name 30 other characters who you could “comfortably lose” before Spider-Man, and that even folks like Hulk and Thor don’t measure up to Spidey’s level of importance. If Disney and Sony had permanently ended this partnership, then Ben Mendelsohn says it would have “been a disaster.”
It is true that Spider-Man is one of Marvel’s most popular superheroes, not to mention a titan of general pop culture, and it’s hard to imagine him leaving the Marvel Comics universe. That said, let’s not forget that we went without Spider-Man for the first eight years of the MCU. He’s certainly become an integral player in this franchise since debuting in Captain America: Civil War, but having him out of the picture wouldn’t be the strangest thing to happen.
Still, with the way Spider-Man: Far From Home left off with the character, many fans would have been disappointed to have him removed at this stage of the game. After defeating Mysterio, returning home from New York and beginning a relationship with MJ, Peter Parker was shocked to see doctored footage being aired by The Daily Bugle where the late Quentin Beck (or is he really dead?) not only framed Peter for the Elemental attack in London, but also outed his secret identity to the world.
If Spider-Man had been evicted from the MCU following that shocking mid-credits scene, who knows if the next Tom Holland-led Spider-Man movie could have even followed up on those events or if the proverbial reset button would have been pressed. Regardless, it doesn’t matter now, as not only will this Spidey receive another movie, he’s also set to make an appearance elsewhere in the MCU.
Whether Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos, who was revealed to be disguised as Nick Fury for the entirety of Spider-Man: Far From Home, will step back into Peter Parker’s life remains to be seen. Talos could also return for Captain Marvel 2, assuming he and Carol Danvers have stayed in touch over the years. Even if they haven’t, whatever happens in the sequel could easily be used to reunite them.
Spider-Man’s next movie swings into theaters on July 16, 2021, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates on its progress. You can also get up to speed on what else is coming out in Phase 4 and beyond with our Marvel movies guide.
