Here’s Why Spider-Man: Homecoming Relies So Much On Cause-And-Effect

After two franchises, five movies, and fifteen years on his own, Spider-Man has finally come to the Marvel Cinematic Universe courtesy of Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures.

And while Spider-Man: Homecoming establishes Peter Parker as his own hero in the MCU, the movie firmly exists in the aftermath of events seen in The Avengers, Age of Ultron, and Captain America: Civil War.

Director Jon Watts spoke with EW about a wide range of topics including why The Vulture needed to be the result of the Avengers’ actions from the first team-up movie and how he wouldn’t exist if the Battle of New York never happened.

“I felt that even before I was involved in this movie,” Watts began. “When I watched Marvel movies — or any big spectacle movie, I’d see extras in the background and think: what is their life like? How have they been impacted? In a perfect way Spider-Man allows me to explore the ground level of this crazy universe because that’s who Spider-Man is. He’s ground level, he’s a regular guy. That became the lens I was able to explore this crazy universe through. It was something I was already interested in, so it was fun to do it in a Spider-Man movie.”

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That approach allowed Watts to look at the Marvel Universe from the ground up through both the hero and the villain. Parker’s journey from getting a taste the glamorous superhero life in Civil War to having to go back to high school and being a Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man are mirrored by Adrian Toomes’ need to provide for his family and his descent into black market weapons dealing.

It’s a nifty parallel that works well for a character like Spider-Man and an interesting take we’ve yet to see in a Spidey film. It obviously pleased audiences, as the movie has been Sony’s second most successful opening weekend at the box office (second to Spider-Man 3).


Spider-Man: Homecoming is in theaters now.

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A young Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland), who made his sensational debut in Captain America: Civil War, begins to navigate his newfound identity as the web-slinging super hero in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, Peter returns home, where he lives with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), under the watchful eye of his new mentor Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.). Peter tries to fall back into his normal daily routine – distracted by thoughts of proving himself to be more than just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man – but when the Vulture (Michael Keaton) emerges as a new villain, everything that Peter holds most important will be threatened.

The cast includes Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Zendaya, Donald Glover, JacobBatalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Tyne Daly, Bokeem Woodbine, with Marisa Tomei, and Robert Downey Jr. It also includes Jon Favreau, Martin Starr, Kenneth Choi, Michael Mando, Selenis Leyva, Isabella Amara, Jorge Lendeborg, Jr., JJ Totah, and Hannibal Buress.