How Spider-Man: Far From Home Focuses on Solo Character After Avengers Movies

Spider-Man: Far From Home is burdened with following what will almost certainly be the largest movie of all time as a sequel of sorts (as much as any Marvel Cinematic Universe movie is a sequel to another). The 23rd movie in the MCU will be a globetrotting adventure, introducing the Multiverse and characters from other planets, but focusing solely on its titular hero. Director Jon Watts has to follow a film with dozens of heroes charging into battle by honing his narrative onto only Spider-Man and his supporting band of characters.

“Small is the wrong word,” Watts told members of the press on the set of Spider-Man: Far From Home when asked about his film’s comparison to Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. “But just as a character-based story, Peter Parker is such an interesting character. And no, instead of thinking about it in the context of the larger universe, I like to think about it in the context of Peter Parker’s emotional journey. Where was he last time? Where did he end up? Where is he going to go now?”

As things will have played out, Peter Parker will still be a junior in high school for Spider-Man: Far From Home, despite five years having passed since the ending of Spider-Man: Homecoming and Avengers: Infinity War. Those years haven’t passed for Peter Parker and many of his friends, though. The Snapped did not age.

“I just try to focus on Peter’s story,” Watts said. “And make it the strongest story that I can tell.”

Of course, Holland’s Spider-Man will have grown tremendously since Spider-Man: Homecoming despite only experiencing a limited amount of time by comparison to those who survived the Infinity War Snap. As Nick Fury points out to him in the most recent trailer, “B—- please, you’ve been to space!”

“Well, for me, it’s nice,” Watts said of an evolved Spider-Man. “The first time it was all very new to me, so, the second time…the first movie you’re figuring so much out. You’re trying to answer questions like, ‘Why do we need another Spider-Man movie?’ Who are these kids? You have to cast everyone. You have to build this whole side of the world up from scratch. So, that work is done and out of the way. But now that you’ve done that, where are you going to take it?”

Watts’ work with Marvel and Sony on the Spider-Man franchise is growing parallel to his main character. “It’s the first movie nerd, Tom Holland, being dropped into this giant world and really feeling the pressure of wanting to do something special or do your best,” Watts said. “The second one is about feeling, when you’re growing up, to so badly want responsibility and to step up and given the responsibility, suddenly you wake up and realize you are being treated like an adult. Then you’re like ‘Wait, I actually liked being a kid, and now I have to do all this stuff?’”

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Spider-Man: Far From Home hits theaters on July 2.