Warning: this story contains major spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home. While there are no shortage of emotional moments in Spider-Man: No Way Home, one of the most resonant may be the death of Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). In a stunning twist, May is fatally injured by Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and dies in Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) arms, but not before imparting upon him a bit of iconic wisdom, uttering the famous words usually reserved for Uncle Ben: “with great power comes great responsibility”. It’s a pivotal moment in the film, and now Holland is speaking out about that shocking death, remarking that it’s “really, really. hard hitting”.
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In an interview on Marvel.com, Holland talks about how the relationship between Peter and May has been a major component of the Spider-Man films and how this particular scene is so shocking and, as a result, has huge impact for fans.
“The relationship between Peter and May throughout these films has been really integral to the heart and soul of the story,” Holland said. “This scene kind of seemingly comes out of the blue, like no one expects this to happen. It’s going to be really, really hard hitting for people [seeing the] movie.”
Holland’s co-star Zendaya also commented about May’s role in not just the film but Peter’s life, noting that the character doesn’t always get the credit she deserves.
“[May’s] a great role model. She’s raised a lovely young man, and she’s done it on her own,” Zendaya said. “She doesn’t get the credit she deserves.”
She added, “It’s important to acknowledge May in the respect that everybody is like, ‘Oh, he always has to have a mentor,’ All these father figures and all this stuff. But May has raised him. Shoutout to May!”
As for May’s death in the film, screenwriter Erik Sommers previously spoke about why they decided to kill the character, noting that it felt like there needed to be a real price for Peter in his decision to save the villains.
“We were at a point where we felt like there needed to be a loss, a sacrifice, that Peter needed to pay a real price for this decision to try to save the villains,” Sommers said. “I think it became pretty clear to a lot of us that losing Aunt May was the thing that would really drive home the point we were trying to make: making this the movie where Peter Parker experiences the loss that the other ones did in their first movies.”
Spider-Man: No Way Home is now playing exclusively in theaters.
What did you think about Aunt May’s death in Spider-Man: No Way Home? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.