How Avengers: Endgame Sets Up Spider-Man: Far From Home

Avengers: Endgame will get an epilogue with Spider-Man: Far From Home, which Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige has decreed the end of Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Endgame spoilers ahead.

The reassembled Avengers, rallied by Captain America (Chris Evans), successfully bring back The Vanished — the trillions of lives erased with the might of the six Infinity Stones when Thanos (Josh Brolin) snapped his fingers five years earlier — returning Spider-Man (Tom Holland) and a legion of other fallen superheroes to life.

Thanos’ snap was reversed by Bruce Banner-slash-Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), who used an Infinity Gauntlet created by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and the six Infinity Stones collected from the past to will The Vanished back into existence.

When they return, Spider-Man explains he blacked out on Titan, Thanos’ ruined homeworld, and awoke to find himself alone.

He only learns through a resurrected Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) five years have passed in real time and the Avengers are making their last stand against Thanos and his cosmic army, who are obliterated with a snap of Stark’s armored fingers — fatally wounding him in the process.

Though the victims of Thanos’ snap have returned to life, the act itself — and the subsequent semi-apocalyptic past five years — remain intact. That includes Stark’s precious family and domestic life he found with wife Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) and daughter Morgan (Lexi Rabe), who are left behind when Stark succumbs to his injuries and dies.

Peter, alongside his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), is later seen attending Stark’s funeral before returning to school, where he’s met by relieved best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), also an apparent victim of the snap. Endgame directors Anthony and Joe Russo in 2018 hinted Ned did not survive The Decimation when they called his fate a spoiler.

Other apparent victims of The Decimation since returned to life include Peter and Ned’s friends and classmates, including MJ (Zendaya), Flash (Tony Revolori), and Betty (Angourie Rice), who accompany Peter and Ned on an overseas class trip to London, Prague, and Venice.

Five years have passed, but the former Vanished will have to pick up where they left off.

Because Far From Home is the end of Phase Three and starts just “a few minutes” after Endgame “wraps as a story,” according to Spider-Man producer Amy Pascal, it will explore the Marvel Cinematic Universe post-Hulk snap — a status quo only glimpsed in Endgame.

After participating in an epic battle where the fate of the entire universe was at stake — Thanos circa 2014 threatened to burn the world to cinders, intending to use the reclaimed Infinity Stones to recreate a reality to his liking — and suffering the death of his mentor and father figure, it becomes clear why Peter Parker decides against bringing his Spider-Man costume along for his European vacation.

Despite not wanting to participate in superheroics during his class field trip abroad, the vacation is ultimately hijacked by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), who pairs Spider-Man with a new ally: the S.H.I.E.L.D.-backed Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), who serves as the key to defeating monster-like elemental creatures assaulting the continent.

Peter will also receive a helping hand from Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) — Stark’s former right-hand man and potential new boyfriend for Aunt May — who is still reeling from the loss of his longtime best friend.

“If Tony is like the supportive cool uncle, Fury’s more like the mean new stepdad,” Far From Home director Jon watts told USA Today. “Fury doesn’t see himself in Peter Parker. Fury sees Peter Parker as an asset that he needs who is too preoccupied with a bunch of high school problems.”

Avengers: Endgame is now playing. Spider-Man: Far From Home swings into theaters July 2.

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