Uncle Ben’s Role In Spider-Man: Homecoming Revealed

With thousands of comic books, a plethora of cartoon series, and soon-to-be three film franchises under his belt, Spider-Man‘s origin story has become ingrained in our collective brains. “With Great Power Comes Great Something Something.” Yeah, yeah, we get it by now.

And while some fans might be disappointed to learn that the upcoming MCU solo film debut from the Web Slinger wouldn’t dwell too much in the past, producers made it clear that the new Spider-Man stories will focus on Peter in the present.

That means Uncle Ben will not be featured in the movie, and they have pretty good reasons for why.

While speaking with CinemaBlend, co-producer Eric Carroll revealed the filmmakers logic for why they’re not showcasing the whole “Great Power” mantra’s inception.

“We thought that, to keep this fun, light tone, as soon as they have to have their, like, ‘Let’s remember our dearly departed father figure’ — it derails that a little,” Carroll said. “And again, what we’re trying to tell is this sort of fun story of the kid who is doing all the wrong things for the right reasons. And once you do that, it stops becoming a fun movie about a kid trying to be a kid. He’s mourning the loss of a parent.”

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John Watts and Tom Holland are not completely disregarding Uncle Ben, nor are they changing the origin. They’re just choosing to remain in the moment for the character and show his growth as a hero.

Carroll said that Marisa Tomei‘s character Aunt May will specifically allude to the events in the past.

“They talk about [Ben], absolutely. It’s not… it’s not a huge thing that I want to go into too much, but there is an acknowledgment that there was a Ben,” Carroll said. “He’s not around anymore, for sure. They talk about that. We don’t go into any specifics. … We’re implying he’s dead. We have not at all, again, gone into trying to change his origin story.”

It’s obvious that Ben Parker‘s specter will loom over most everything Parker does. But between every adaptation and interpretation, that point has been hammered in and there’s little a story can gain by telling people what we already know. It’s why filmmakers need to tone down on the whole theater scene when doing their own version of Batman—we get it. Move on.

Spider-Man: Homecoming is set to hit theaters July 7.

Are you excited for the first MCU film to focus on the Wall Crawler? Let us know with your vote in the Anticipation Rankings below!

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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, Jacob Batalon, 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.

Next up for Marvel is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on May 5, 2017. Spider-Man: Homecoming lands on July 7, 2017, followed by Thor: Ragnarok on November 3, 2017. After that Black Panther debuts on February 16, 2018, while Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters on May 4, 2018. Ant-Man and the Wasp is slated for July 6, 2018, followed by Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019.