With the outpouring of details from out Spider-Man: Homecoming set visit, we expect your salivating over this fast-approaching summer blockbuster. So let’s revel in anticipation by pondering what might we expect from presumed sequels for the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s newest edition? We asked the filmmakers and stars of Spider-Man: Homecoming what villains Spidey might face off with next.
First off, it’s important to understand that the villains from Spider-Man comics are owned by Sony, who collaborated with Disney and Marvel Entertainment to create Spider-Man: Homecoming. So the villains can only play in the MCU sandbox if Sony gives the okay. But Sony producer Amy Pascal told us this trio of studios has hopes for further co-productions. “I think that there’s a surprisingly generous and cooperative thing,” she told us last August on the set of Spidey’s latest reboot.
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Pascal suggested Sony is open to bringing in any of their villains to the MCU, saying, “Nothing precludes anything. The sky is open right now. And I think that if we can keep this goodwill going, I think it’s going to be good for the fans and good for the journalists and the nerds and good for the companies.” She also noted the animated Spider-Man films aren’t in the same cinematic universe as MCU’s live-action movies, so a baddie appearing in one won’t keep him or her from popping up in the other.
As to scheduling, Marvel producer Eric Carroll revealed that future Spider-Man movies would be released to compliment the MCU phases, noting “There’s nothing in it for us or for Sony to accidentally start competing or putting a movie out at the wrong time or confusing the continuity.”
Carroll also divulged that the structure for Spider-Man sequels would follow Peter Parker through high school. In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Peter’s a sophomore. So subsequent movies could be set in his junior and senior year, like–for example– Spider-Man: Junior Prom or Spider-Man: Graduation. Okay, so “Junior Prom” is an unlikely moniker. But you know that last one could be a solid MCU title.
We asked Tom Holland, who plays the latest incarnation of Spider-Man, which villain he’d like to go up against on the big screen. He was quick to offer, “Oh, well I love Doc Ock. I think Spider-Man 2 is one of the greatest superhero movies ever made. But I think Venom is someone I’d love to kick the crap out of one day.”
However, a rebooted Doctor Octopus seems unlikely, as Carroll stressed this third Spider-Man franchise is shying away from what audiences have seen before with Sam Raimi‘s original trilogy and Mark Webb‘s Amazing Spider-Man duo. Speaking to why the Green Goblin specifically won’t be cropping up in this Spider-Man tale, Carroll said, “We want to tread lightly with what’s been done in the past films in terms of, like, the Osborns, and things like that. So I don’t think, we’re not going directly down that route any time soon.”
Does that mean Venom is out of the MCU too? That’s less clear. Pascal admitted, “There’s a Venom movie in development,” but was otherwise tight-lipped on that property.
For his part, Carroll claimed the MCU had “nothing” to do with the Venom movie. But he also said, “We have not been told of anything we’re not allowed to play with at the moment. They do have their own plans. What it is at the moment, we’re not sure what it is after this.” Which could maybe mean that last August–when we were on set–Sony was developing a Venom movie, but MCU wasn’t on board, yet. For more on that we’ll have to wait and see. But the sky is the limit when it comes to the rest of Sony’s rogues’ gallery.
“There was literally no list of ‘Don’t ever do this,’” Carroll shared. “If we came up with a Norman (Osborn) pitch that we wanted to use in a feature movie, maybe. Yeah totally. But I’m sure we’d have to figure out deal by deal.”
Spider-Man: Homecoming director Jon Watts doesn’t need the big Spidey bads to get excited. After all, he’s building his MCU branch on The Vulture, The Tinkerer, and The Shocker. Asked what sinister figures a sequel might bring, Watts teased, “We have some ideas of who could fit in in an interesting way, but we’re just trying to build Spider-Man’s side of the world in a rich way that could organically lead to some of that great rogues’ gallery.”
He went on to joke about some of the lesser villains unlikely to appear, saying, “Not Jackson Weele , you guys know Jackson Weele? He’s like one of the silliest of all villains. His name is Jackson Weele and he becomes Big Wheel and he rides around in a giant wheel…There’s some real, real classic villains. Will-O’-The-Wisp. Gideon Mace, he has an arm that’s a mace that also shoots mace. You just imagine the writers just cracking up. ‘We’re late for our deadline, uhhh…Gideon Mace.’ It’s so fun.”
What Spider-Man foe would you like to see hit the MCU next?
Image: Sony/Marvel Studios
Don’t miss the rest of our Spider-Man: Homecoming set visit coverage:
