Spider-Man: Far From Home just swung into theaters this past weekend but the new sequel already has fans buzzing about what comes next for Tom Holland’s Peter Parker. Spoiler warning!
While Spider-Man: Far From Home is filled with plenty of twists and turns, the film’s biggest surprises come during the mid-credits scene which not only includes a major cameo but also the shocking reveal of Spider-Man’s true identity to the world.
Speaking with The New York Times, Spider-Man: Far From Home writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers dished on the moment when Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio not only frames Tom Holland’s Peter Parker for the Elemental attacks across Europe but outs Peter Parker as Spider-Man and what implications that could have on the franchise going forward:
McKENNA We were challenged by the producers to come up with something that Peter sacrifices by the end of this movie, and when we hit upon that as a group, it became a very scary idea: “Oh, no, we can’t do that! Then it’s not a Spider-Man movie anymore!”
SOMMERS Ultimately, we realized that because it scared us, you have to run toward it.
McKENNA It’s such a bold maneuver that it became inevitable, particularly with a tricky character like Mysterio, who’s this dark father figure. From the grave, is he trying to give Peter his “I’m Iron Man” moment? It’s thrust upon him, but is this a lesson or a punishment?
McKENNA We were wondering, “Are we going as deep as we need to at the end of the movie?” We played with the idea that Peter is the one who sacrifices his identity out of necessity during the final battle, then it seemed more interesting if Mysterio tricks him into doing it, but any time we wrote a version where he was being revealed to the world in that battle, it felt like it diminished the victory. So before it became a tag, it was really just the end of the movie: Right as he feels he’s stepping up as Spider-Man, he has the rug pulled out from under him again.
SOMMERS We were definitely debating, should we just reveal who Spider-Man is, or should we frame him for something and turn him into a pariah? Ultimately, we decided that both was the way to go. It’s such a triumph at the end because he’s got the girl and finally earned a big swing through the city, so we want to knock him down as far as possible.
As for that major cameo, McKenna and Sommers opened up about the decision to bring back J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson. The actor previously delivered several iconic performances as the over-the-top Daily Bugle publisher in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy. While Spider-Man: Far From Home does feature the actor reprising the role, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is delivering a fresh take on the Daily Bugle, featuring the outlet in the vein of Alex Jones’ InfoWars rather than as a newspaper like it has been traditionally in the comics and previous films:
McKENNA Both of those ideas came together pretty quickly. I don’t know if it was [director Jon] Watts or someone else who said, “It should be the Daily Bugle, and it should be J. Jonah Jameson.” That idea has been lingering around since “Homecoming”: How do we insert our new version of J. Jonah?
SOMMERS There had already been some interest in possibly using J.K. Simmons when we brought J. Jonah back, so once it was decided that we were going to reveal Peter’s identity at the very end instead of the final battle, it all fell into place very naturally that J. Jonah would be involved.
McKENNA Something that had been floating through this entire movie was the idea of “fake news” and how can you believe everything you see? We had been toying with the idea that Mysterio would turn Spider-Man into a villain, just like he did in the comic books, and it felt like that then tied into this J. Jonah 2.0 as the Alex Jones of the MCU.
McKENNA It’s the “Whiplash” version! It’s a little less comic-book — we’re taking him in a slightly different direction. But we’re excited that if this continues on and we get to work on the next one, hopefully, it’ll involve a lot of J.K.
Here’s the official synopsis for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: Far From Home:
Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man must step up to take on new threats in a world that has changed forever.
Directed by Jon Watts from a script written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, Spider-Man: Far From Home stars Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhaal, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Tony Revolori, Martin Starr, Numan Acar, J.B. Smoove, Oli Hill, Remy Hii, Marisa Tomei, Michael Keaton, Jon Favreau, Cobie Smulders, and Samuel L. Jackson.
Spider-Man: Far From Home is now playing in theaters. Stay tuned to Heroic Hollywood for the latest news on the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Source: NY Times
