Slight spoilers for Spider-Man: Far From Home up ahead! Proceed with caution if you have yet to see the movie. After seeing Spider-Man: Far From Home, fans were quick to take to Twitter to rave about one of the movie’s most “memeable” moments when Ned (Jacob Batalon) tried convincing Betty (Angourie Rice) that Peter — who was dressed in his stealth suit — wasn’t Spider-Man. Rather, as Ned put it, the mysterious new person was an international superhero called Night Monkey.
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But what the heck is a Night Monkey, exactly? Well, believe it or not — night monkeys are an actual thing. Night monkeys — or owl monkeys — are native to Central and South America and are the only species of monkeys that is nocturnal. According to the University of Wisconsin, the lemur-looking monkeys have life spans upwards of 20 years. The university also says the species is one of the few species of primates that are naturally resistant to the parasites that cause malaria. Because of this, night monkeys have routinely been used in malaria-based research.
Earlier this year, Far From Home producer Eric Carroll explained the development process behind the stealth suit that ended up causing the whole “Night Monkey” phase.
“It’s inspired by a bunch of different looks in the comics,” Carroll said. “We have Noir, Big Time — but of course, when Ryan [Meinerding, concept artist and Marvel Studios head of visual development] was designing this, he has all the past S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in mind, so it’s very reminiscent of what Black Widow or Hawkeye wear. And it’s got all these little details, which Ryan’s amazing at.”
“We thought [the Stealth Suit] was so cool, but [director] Jon Watts really wanted to find a way to make it less cool,” he continued. “So he gave them these cheesy flip-up goggles, like those ’80s glasses. [Tom] has to operate them manually, there’s no cool mechanism… And we’re like, ‘No, that’s the point… dumber! It’s got to look really dumb, when he has to flip that up.’ So, at the eleventh hour, he’s looking down all these imposing characters — Nick Fury and so on — and then [Peter] has to flip this up and talk to him.”
Where would you rank Far From Home in your list of Spider-Man movies? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Spider-Man: Far From Home and Avengers: Endgame are now both in theaters while Captain Marvel is available wherever movies are sold.