Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man movie is confusing audiences in a whole new way after changing the story five years after its release.
20 Years of Spider-Man
Over the years, Spider-Man has become one of the most important properties in filmmaking.
From the Sam Raimi trilogy of the 2000s to Marvel Studios’ take on the wallcrawler in its Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise to Sony’s animated Multiverse, Spider-Man has had a major presence in cinema throughout the last two decades.
It was Tobey Maguire who became the first blockbuster Spider-Man in Sam Raimi’s 2002 movie. Maguire returned for two more outings, Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007), before Andrew Garfield took over as Peter Parker in Marc Webb’s reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) alongside Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy.
Garfield went on to star in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), but the sequel’s poor critical and commercial reception canceled any plans to make it a trilogy or series.
Perhaps the most successful take on Spider-Man, at least at the box office, is Tom Holland’s. The British actor made his MCU debut in Captain America: Civil War (2016) through a plan concocted by Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures, who own the rights to the iconic character.
Holland, who is rumored to return in Kevin Feige’s big Phase Six finisher, Avengers: Secret Wars (2027), and a potential Spider-Man 4 (TBD), went on to star in his own trilogy of movies directed by Jon Watts: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).
Holland also starred in Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
While it has been three years since Tom Holland last appeared as Spider-Man, the studios have brought the New York webslinger back to movie theaters in a massive rerelease initiative.
Spider-Man Sequel Falls Flat
Starting in April, Marvel and Sony have been bringing the Spider-Man movies back to audiences. Starting with Spider-Man (2000), each entry will open once again in theaters.
For Spider-Man: Far From Home‘s release, though, numbers were not as favorable as its predecessors.
As Comic Book Movie notes, Far From Home took the lowest opening day box office, with a total of $265,000. To put that into perspective, the second movie in Raimi’s trilogy, Spider-Man 2, grossed $805,000 (per IGN).
When Spider-Man: Far From Home was first released in 2019, the sequel movie took over $1.1 billion. Two years later, No Way Home would usurp the movie as the trilogy’s best, taking $1.9 billion globally.
The huge box office for No Way Home was aided by the near-constant stream of rumors running up to the film’s release and the eventual confirmation that Holland would be joined by fellow Peter Parker actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield in the climactic Multiverse event.
Next to follow Far From Home in theaters will be No Way Home on June 3. It will be interesting to see if the initial fan reaction to No Way Home back in 2021 will be replicated in 2024.
The version of Far From Home that was recently rereleased, though, was different from the original iteration seen in theaters five years ago. Wavelength Productions (@W8velengthP) noted:
I went and saw the Spider-Man: Far From Home Re-Release yesterday, and for some reason, they played the deleted scene of Peter fighting in the restaurant. This scene was deleted from the movie before it came out, and we only got glimpses of it from the trailers.
I went and saw the Spider-Man: Far From Home Re-Release yesterday, and for some reason, they played the deleted scene of Peter fighting in the restaurant. This scene was deleted from the movie before it came out, and we only got glimpses of it from the trailers. pic.twitter.com/LrFQaTg97c
— WAVELENGTH PRODUCTIONS (@W8velengthP) May 28, 2024
Related: Actress Walks Away From ‘Captain Marvel’ Leaving MCU Future Shattered, Addresses Exit
It is unclear why this changed version was shown, but judging by some comments on the above tweet, fans would rather see this than the original circulating on the market.
Far From Home not only saw the return of Zendaya as MJ and Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds, but also the MCU debut of Jake Gyllenhaal, who played Quentin Beck, AKA Mysterio.
Spider-Man 4
The future of Spider-Man in the MCU is uncertain at present. While Holland confirmed that talks had commenced in 2023, they were put on hold due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Kevin Feige, Sony Pictures, and Amy Pascal are seemingly actively working on developing a fourth Spider-Man movie and a potential new trilogy.
Holland, who is currently playing Romeo in Jamie Lloyd’s Romeo & Juliet at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London’s West End, stated that he would return if it did “justice” to the character.
“All I can say is that we have been actively engaging in conversations about what it could potentially look like for a fourth rendition of my character,” Holland said at the Critics Choice Association in late November 2023 (via Deadline). “Whether or not we can find a way to do justice to the character is another thing. I feel very protective over Spider-Man.”
The actor added that he wanted to protect Spider-Man’s legacy. But could the lure of another lucrative Spider-Man trilogy push Marvel and Sony into making the film anyway?
Like Robert Downey Jr., who played Tony Stark/Iron Man for 11 years in the MCU, Holland has been rumored to return as Spider-Man in Avengers: Secret Wars, the current end of the Multiverse Saga.
Related: Marvel Ending Troubled Multiverse Saga, Updates Given
The MCU’s state of flux may see bigger plans change—if they were even true in the first place. As Disney and Marvel adjust to a new way of working and the franchise is being tightened up, this may mean potential new projects are put on hold or canceled altogether.
Have you been to see Spider-Man back in the movie theaters? Let us know in the comments down below!
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