Posted in: Marvel Studios, Movies, Sony | Tagged: disney, film, marvel, spider-man: homecoming

'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Writers Talk Uncle Ben And Aunt May

Published Wed, 02 Aug 2017 18:00:41 -0500

There's working on a movie with major stars for a big studio, and then there's working on a Marvel movie. That's what writers Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley learned when they were brought on to work on the first few drafts of Spider-Man: Homecoming. Both of them recently sat down with Entertainment Weekly to talk about working on the script and some aspects of the movie that were left out.

When asked about working on a Marvel production, Daley talked about how unique working on a Marvel film is:

"It's incredible," says Daley (whom you might recognize from playing Sam on Freaks and Geeks). "It's almost like a television model on steroids. When you're dealing with such incredible budgets on these movies, it's truly world creating."

The tone of the movie, which has been likened to a John Hugh's vehicle from day one, was the tone they decided on the moment they sat down to work on the script.

"We went in with a very John Hughes-ian sort of take on the material that Marvel had given us — a laundry list of villains, friends of Peter Parker," adds Goldstein.

While there are two other writers credited on the script, Daley and Goldstein say that the script stays close to their original ideas.

"It's a coming-of-age story on every level," Daley says. "This is about a kid who doesn't really know how to use his powers yet. I don't think you could get away with a back story for Captain America where he doesn't fit in with the Avengers."

There were a few things that didn't make it into the script. The death of Uncle Ben has always played a major role in Peter's life and this movie didn't directly address it.

"We did talk about there being a scene where [May] references him directly," Daley says. "It was when [Peter] was getting ready for homecoming and the wardrobe she was giving Peter was all Uncle Ben's clothes. It was a nice moment, but we also knew that it veered away from his arc. If you're going to talk about someone's death, you don't want it to be a throwaway."

There was also the idea of Aunt May moving on from Ben and even dating that didn't end up in the script.

"We loved the idea of a cool aunt," says Goldstein. "In an early draft we actually even had her dating a guy, and part of her relationship with Peter was this inappropriate frankness. It didn't make the cut, but I could see in the sequel she could get a boyfriend. She doesn't have to be a mourning widow."

We have a sequel on the way so there's still plenty of time for the movie to address May. She was one of the best parts of the movie so any plot that involves more of her is a good thing.

Summary: Following the events of Captain America: Civil War (2016), Peter Parker attempts to balance his life in high school with his career as the web-slinging superhero Spider-Man.

Spider-Man: Homecoming stars Tom Holland, Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei, Donald Glover, Zendaya, Tony Revolori, and Michael Keaton. Swing on down to your local theater and check it out now.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!