Still Doing Whatever a Spider Can
December 9, 2016 8:01 AM   Subscribe

The trailer for the third movie incarnation of Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Homecoming, was released via Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which featured a few additional Spider-Men on the show. The movie will feature Tom Holland as Peter Parker, and Michael Keaton as a menacing costumed version of a winged creature (no, not that one, nor that one, either).

This is the same version of Spider-Man that appeared in the film Captain America: Civil War.The film is the first stand-alone film for Spider-Man from Marvel Studios (which is co-producing the film with Columbia Pictures and LStar Capital), following two previous versions of the character from Sony, which will be distributing the film as part of a complicated deal made with Marvel last year. Among the other characters familiar to comics readers making an appearance will be the Shocker (no, not that kind, perverts).
posted by Halloween Jack (50 comments total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
You know how most banks let you assign automatic money payments? I should do that Marvel at this point.

Yes, this is collaboration with Sony films who own the movie rights to Spider-man. But they've screwed that up so many times, they had to get Marvel to come in and work with them. And that's fine! This is the first Spider-Man film I've actually wanted to see in a long time.

Sure, we can pick apart the trailer, but to me it feels (not looks) but feels close to what a Spider-Man film should be. It's got heart and characterization and that's the important part. All the action scenes and CGI are second to that.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:14 AM on December 9, 2016 [6 favorites]


Really hope Zendaya's got more than a bit part.
posted by chavenet at 8:20 AM on December 9, 2016 [3 favorites]


Among the other characters familiar to comics readers making an appearance will be the Shocker

Going for that elusive Wichita State demographic.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:22 AM on December 9, 2016 [4 favorites]


...or Arizona State.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:27 AM on December 9, 2016


the third movie incarnation of Spider-Man

Sixth?
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 8:27 AM on December 9, 2016


Third incarnation as in the third actor to portray him, I assume?
posted by aldurtregi at 8:29 AM on December 9, 2016 [1 favorite]


(holds up fistful of small bills, trembling)

TAKE MY MONEY.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:41 AM on December 9, 2016 [2 favorites]


*takes DirtyOldTown's money, buys tickets, popcorn and Raisinets to mix into the popcorn.*
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:44 AM on December 9, 2016 [1 favorite]


This looks like a fun version of the character, and I'm looking forward to seeing it.

Two actors - Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield - have played Spidey in previous feature films, and two - Nicholas Hammond, of the 1970s TV films, and Danny Seagren, who played the character in segments of "The Electric Company" - have played him on TV. So that would make Tom Holland the third actor to play Spider-Man in the movies, and the fifth overall to portray him in live action.
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 8:44 AM on December 9, 2016 [1 favorite]


Marisa Tomei is acting with both her husband from "The Paper" and her love interest in "Only You". They should just complete the 90's love fest by shoehorning Joe Pesci in there somewhere.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 8:47 AM on December 9, 2016 [6 favorites]


Ooohh yeah.

I couldn't bring myself to go see the last couple of Spider-Man movies, despite being a big fan of the character. This one looks like they are going to get it right on a bunch of levels.
posted by tdismukes at 8:48 AM on December 9, 2016 [2 favorites]


You know how Facebook has that On This Day feature that shows you posts you made that day in prior years? It recently reminded me of the announcement when Disney bought Marvel - I expected nothing good to come of it, and I'm so so thrilled to have been nothing but wrong about that. Disney/Marvel has done amazing things with characters I've loved since I was a little girl and I'm fully stoked that Spider-Man is back where he belongs (I know Sony still has the rights but I'm talking creatively here) and integrated into the MCU. Just his brief appearance in Civil War made this Spidey my favorite of the movie versions, and I can't wait for this. Teen angst + super powers is still the best combo.
posted by skycrashesdown at 8:51 AM on December 9, 2016 [2 favorites]


I'm a fan of the wonder and earnestness Maguire & Raimi brought to the role -- those first two films were fantastic and in my mind they're the latest shoulder-foundation that every superhero film since stands on.

But with Civil War and this, Holland and the writers seem to have captured not only that but also the talky-zingy stuff that seems part of Spider-Man that the "Amazing" films did with Garfield without some of the too-cool/edgy stuff.

This really looks like it's going to hit all the right notes and be a lot of fun.

Also: Keaton as another costumed-winged guy. They were already having fun and taking us for a ride when they cast it.
posted by wildblueyonder at 8:56 AM on December 9, 2016


and the fifth overall to portray him in live action
But let's not overlook Paul Soles (also the voice of Hermey from Rudolph!) who played Spidey in the 60's Canadian animated TV show that featured the theme which this post gets its title from (and was recorded here in Toronto!)
posted by chococat at 9:01 AM on December 9, 2016


So that would make Tom Holland the third actor to play Spider-Man in the movies, and the fifth overall to portray him in live action.

Of course you're overlooking Buster Crabbe in Republic Pictures' nine-episode 1941 serial "The Mysterious Spider Man."
posted by Naberius at 9:02 AM on December 9, 2016 [2 favorites]


and the fifth overall to portray him in live action.

There's also the Broadway musical, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, which had two people portray Spider-Man during it's run (Reeve Carney and Justin Matthew Sargent).
posted by FJT at 9:11 AM on December 9, 2016


Two actors - Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield - have played Spidey in previous feature films, and two - Nicholas Hammond, of the 1970s TV films, and Danny Seagren, who played the character in segments of "The Electric Company" - have played him on TV. So that would make Tom Holland the third actor to play Spider-Man in the movies, and the fifth overall to portray him in live action.

Seriously though, I'd also count Shinji Todo (as "Takuya Yamashiro"/"Spider-Man") from the 1978 Japanese Spider-Man (aka "Supaidaman") TV series. It's not at all like the original comics, but it's absolutely a cooler-looking Spider-Man costume (with better Spidey poses!) than the Nicholas Hammond version. And it's a fully canon part of the Marvel Universe, as of last year's big "Spider-Verse" crossover event.
posted by Strange Interlude at 9:12 AM on December 9, 2016 [4 favorites]


why, I'm listening to the Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark mixtape right now
posted by prize bull octorok at 9:13 AM on December 9, 2016 [2 favorites]


Spidey's friend dropping his Lego Death Star looks like homage to Harrison Ford dropping the Lego Millennium Falcon
posted by chavenet at 9:14 AM on December 9, 2016


I am so in because I feel they've finally captured an actor who actually reminds me that Peter Parker is pretty much just a kid.
posted by Kitteh at 9:17 AM on December 9, 2016 [3 favorites]


i haven't clicked on any of the links yet, just wanted to say that i always get tom holland and tom hollander confused and was VERY stoked for a weird-ass spiderman for a second
posted by burgerrr at 9:20 AM on December 9, 2016 [6 favorites]


Chococat, there have been several animated versions of Spidey besides that 1960s TV series (which may have had elements produced in Canada but was seen in the States, too - I'm old enough to have watched it when it first aired). If you want to count up all the actors who have played him in animation, you could start here.

And FJT, obviously from the context, I was talking specifically about filmed, live-action versions of the character.

I forgot about the Japanese TV version, though, so thanks for that reminder, Strange Interlude. That would be six actors, then, not counting any parodies. (I thought Spidey might have been in that late-1970s SNL sketch about a superhero party, but don't see him in any of the photos that turn up in a quick image search. Check out Garrett Morris as Ant-Man and John Belushi as the Hulk, though).
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 9:26 AM on December 9, 2016


OK, because I am trying not to do any actual work today, I spent a couple more minutes looking at pics of that SNL sketch, and sure enough, there was someone in it wearing a Spider-Man costume.
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 9:31 AM on December 9, 2016


> "why, I'm listening to the Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark mixtape right now"

I'm listening to Spiderman Too: 2 Many Spidermen!
posted by kyrademon at 9:32 AM on December 9, 2016 [4 favorites]


I hope RDJ is not in the movie as much as he seems to be from the trailer. Probably they're just leaning hard on Tony Stark, to emphasize "Hey! This Spider-Man is in Marvel now!"
posted by mumblingmynah at 9:54 AM on December 9, 2016


Another person to don the spiderman costume on TV - Kenny Everett, who contributed this short spiderman skit sometime in the 80s on his 'The Kenny Everett Television Show' show. Every UK child who saw this in the 80s still remembers it, I guarantee it.
posted by memebake at 10:00 AM on December 9, 2016


I feel like Tom Holland sits right in the middle of the Tobey Maguire/Andrew Garfield spectrum, whatever that is.
posted by bigbluehouse at 10:06 AM on December 9, 2016


If we're going to enumerate every brief parody appearance of someone in a Spidey costume, we'll need to start identifying all these guys, too.
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 10:26 AM on December 9, 2016


The movies have let Stark get pretty damn grim but someone in the writer's den feels free to let loose when Downey is with Holland. I'm thankful for that and I need to see more.
posted by Ber at 10:37 AM on December 9, 2016


Halloween Jack: “the third movie incarnation of Spider-Man”

justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow: “Sixth?”

Nope, fourth. Nick Hammond, Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and now Tom Holland. (Maybe fifth, if you count Shinji Todo.) That is, if you read "movie incarnation of Spider-Man" as meaning "iteration of Spider-Man with a new actor playing him," so that an "incarnation" can last several movies – which is what I think Halloween Jack meant. (Third modern movie incarnation of Spider-Man would seem to be correct.)
posted by koeselitz at 10:46 AM on December 9, 2016 [1 favorite]


I hope RDJ is not in the movie as much as he seems to be from the trailer. Probably they're just leaning hard on Tony Stark, to emphasize "Hey! This Spider-Man is in Marvel now!"

Still kind of hoping that the movie will turn out to literally be about Tony Stark and Aunt May (Marisa Tomei!) flirtily co-chaperoning the homecoming dance at Peter's high school, and the Vulture is just one of May's jealous ex-boyfriends who crashes the party and makes a huge scene.
posted by Strange Interlude at 10:47 AM on December 9, 2016 [4 favorites]


Still waiting for Spider-Man:The Musical:The Movie.
posted by blue_beetle at 10:55 AM on December 9, 2016 [1 favorite]


Hmm in listing the actors playing him over the years you all seem to have accidentally forgotten Franco Franchetti in Italian Spiderman
posted by churl at 11:30 AM on December 9, 2016 [4 favorites]


Still kind of hoping that the movie will turn out to literally be about Tony Stark and Aunt May (Marisa Tomei!) flirtily co-chaperoning the homecoming dance at Peter's high school, and the Vulture is just one of May's jealous ex-boyfriends who crashes the party and makes a huge scene.

I can't stop picturing this now.
posted by Ber at 11:38 AM on December 9, 2016 [2 favorites]


Hmm in listing the actors playing him over the years you all seem to have accidentally forgotten Franco Franchetti in Italian Spiderman

Missed it by that much!

GOBLIN!
posted by leotrotsky at 12:00 PM on December 9, 2016 [1 favorite]


I hope Spidey beats the bad guy at the end of this one
posted by beerperson at 12:01 PM on December 9, 2016 [1 favorite]


Tom Holland seems fine, but I'm bummed that they just didn't go with Miles Morales this time, especially with Peter's best friend being a clear Ganke pastiche
posted by thecjm at 12:04 PM on December 9, 2016 [4 favorites]


Yeah, by "third movie incarnation" I was going for a pretty Americocentric movie-theater release interpretation of that, not "1978 American live-action made-for-television superhero film that had a theatrical release abroad" or whatever. But I'm delighted that my fellow nerds are tracking down all the obscure appearances of anyone in a Spidey costume.
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:10 PM on December 9, 2016


Even if I hadn't just taken Atlanta Movie Tours' inaugural outing of their Hero Tour last month so it was already fresh in my mind, I have to say it's really fun picking out all the Atlanta-for-New York location shooting that Pinewood Studios did on this. Especially the use of the Marriott Marquis atrium, previously used for the Hunger Games. I guess it'll be time to update one of my favorite survival tips for DragonCon, which is also hosted there: "Both Spider-Man and District 13 special forces agree, if you need to change floors in the Marriott, rappelling is going to be faster than waiting on an elevator."

(One fun little tidbit from the Hero Tour that I didn't catch any glimpse of in the trailer, was the fact that somewhere in MCU New York is a Korean Church of Asgard. Guess I'm going to have to wait for the full film to pick out that detail.)
posted by radwolf76 at 12:15 PM on December 9, 2016 [2 favorites]


Korean Church of Asgard

I wonder, if this is how Jesus is depicted by Korean Christians, what does the Korean Asgardian version of Thor look like?
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:25 PM on December 9, 2016 [2 favorites]


That Jesus statue reminds me of Son-O'-God.
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:50 PM on December 9, 2016


Before Civil War I was definitely in the "I love Peter to death but he graduated from high school in 1965*, why are we doing this a third time, especially when characters like Miles or Kamala are better placed to be the MCU's first teen superhero**," but Tom Holland was so damn on point -- so now I'm simultaneously still in that camp, and really excited for this film.

Various thoughts:
1. I hope RDJ's scenes are disproportionately represented in the trailer, because part of Spidey's original appeal was that he was a teen hero without a support system -- unless they're taking a cue from Ultimate Spider-Man, where older heroes would try to mentor Peter, but ultimately let him down through their own foibles.

2. On the flip side, I hope Zendaya has a decent-sized role whether or not she's Mary Jane. (If she's not, I hope Marvel/Sony remember the enthusiasm over casting a woman of color to play one of the comics' best characters, and respond accordingly when she does show up.)

3. Ambivalent about "Ned Leeds," aka Ganke-in-all-but-name. More diversity is good, but it seems like a slap in the face to everybody who wanted a Miles film -- "Nope, you don't get Miles! We're just taking his most popular supporting character and giving him to Pete, who is so desperately in need of supporting characters to reimagine." Also, this isn't a universally consistent principle, but in most contemporary adaptations (and the 616 comics) Peter's closest civilian confidantes are women (even if Harry Osborn might have the official "best friend" title). IMO, Peter having those close female friendships is a counterweight to the potential toxic masculinity in the more wish fulfillment-y aspects of the character, so having Ned-Ganke be the first to know instead is... yeah. (And yanked straight out of Miles' comics, again.)

4. Vulture looks like a dweeb. I love it. I also love that we're getting my favorite D-lister Shocker.

5. Love that Holland's American accent seems to have a bit of New York to it; will let actual NYCers deliver the verdict on whether it's convincing. Do not like the cheat of Spider-Man being able to squint, but I'll get over it.

*From a history of pop culture perspective it fascinates me that today the "iconic" version of Peter Parkeris a high schooler, even though that wasn't the case for most of his existence. Between 1965 and 2000, when the first Raimi film and the Ultimate comics came out, the quintessential Peter Parker was young, but definitely an adult -- in adaptations, either a college/university student (the Hammond live-action films, Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, the 90s cartoon) or his exact age was irrelevant (the '67 cartoon, The Electric Company).

**Uh, how awesome would it have been to retcon Maguire's Peter in as the MCU's first superhero who retired before Iron Man's debut and is now Miles' snarky mentor (or co-mentor with MJ)? SO AWESOME.

posted by bettafish at 2:54 PM on December 9, 2016 [7 favorites]


Spider Man and His Amazing Friends had Spider Man and two friends who could kill with a thought, but none of them used their powers offensively. Spiderman never threw a punch. He didn't need to. It was one clever use of their powers to trick and entrap the enemy harmlessly after another, and it was excellent. It was the pure and platonic expression of a superhero - not only do the Heroes save the day without killing, they save the day against heavy hitters like The Red Skull, Doctor Doom and Dormammu without hurting anyone, including the badguys.

Norman is a cool and unexpected direction to take. Because you know who that it is sitting with Peter at lunch.... it ain't Flash Thompson.
posted by Slap*Happy at 6:27 PM on December 9, 2016


Brandon Blatcher: "*takes DirtyOldTown's money, buys tickets, popcorn and Raisinets to mix into the popcorn.*"

Takes Brandon's snack mix, a large Coke, and a package of Red Vines (to use as a straw) and heads to Theatre 3. Gotta get that seat down in front!

Also, lovely to see an old fave of mine, Adrian Toomes, finally getting some love.
posted by Samizdata at 8:03 PM on December 9, 2016


SinisterPurpose: "It seems like this incarnation (the precise number being, I don't know, wildly unimportant) is drawing a great deal from Ultimate Spider-Man, which was a sincere effort to update the Spider-Man mythos and make even more accessible the emotional core of the complex forces driving the character. There was an effort in those comics to reconnect Peter Parker to his parents, specifically his father. We saw a little bit of that in Campbell Scott's role in those purely dreadful Andrew Garfield movies. And I think the role we see Tony Stark playing is meant to be an alternate bridge to that same emotional content. That content is why I am unusually enthusiastic about this movie. The thing about Spider-Man is that it's just so important that the viewer, reader, what-have-you understands how it feels to be Spider-Man and Peter Parker. It isn't about the powers, the villains, or the pure thrills. It's about the feels. That's Spider-Man. That's all it is."

I really have to ask, as it is incomprehensible to me, what it feels like to be so completely, utterly, omega level wrong about thing, like, say, I dunno, the Andrew Garfield Spidermen?
posted by Samizdata at 8:14 PM on December 9, 2016


When they announced the title I was hopeful they were signaling the influence of Mary Jane, Mary Jane:Homecoming and Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane that Sean McKeever did with Takeshi Miyazawa and Christina Strain about 10 years ago. They're my absolute favorite Spider-Man anything and it looks like there's some of it here. Let's see if they learned the most important lesson they could take away from those titles: if you have to choose between showing a superhero fight and normal high school drama, pick the drama. It's the part called drama for Chrissake.
posted by putzface_dickman at 8:24 PM on December 9, 2016 [1 favorite]


Holland made me a True Believer immediately in Civil War and I will be there right away opening day. Everyone loves the metal arm line, but mine was "That thing does not obey the laws of physics at all."

And I'm loving the expressive eyes (finally!) on the costume.
posted by entropicamericana at 8:06 AM on December 10, 2016 [1 favorite]


Seriously though, I'd also count Shinji Todo (as "Takuya Yamashiro"/"Spider-Man") from the 1978 Japanese Spider-Man (aka "Supaidaman") TV series. It's not at all like the original comics, but it's absolutely a cooler-looking Spider-Man costume (with better Spidey poses!) than the Nicholas Hammond version. And it's a fully canon part of the Marvel Universe, as of last year's big "Spider-Verse" crossover event.

Oh, wow. The Japanese Spider-Man had a totally amazing sequence for getting his costume on which looks straight out of Silver-Age comics when The Flash would keep his costume super-compressed into a little compartment in his ring.
posted by straight at 3:07 PM on December 10, 2016 [1 favorite]


I really have to ask, as it is incomprehensible to me, what it feels like to be so completely, utterly, omega level wrong about thing, like, say, I dunno, the Andrew Garfield Spidermen?

Garfield and Emma Stone were great, but they were stuck in a pair of terrible movies. The first was a retelling of the origin story which was both totally unnecessary and, coming on the heels of the Maguire origin story, felt the need to make a bunch of arbitrary changes to make this version different (Uncle Ben doesn't get to give Peter the "great power/great responsibility" line, there's no J. Jonah Jameson), none of which were improvements. The second was a totally botched attempt to re-tell the Death of Gwen Stacy. Both films had exceptionally bad writing. There's a scene in the second movie where the director just had Garfield and Stone trying to improvise a bunch of quirky romantic banter, and it's just horrible, a real betrayal of the actors, leaving them hanging out to dry like that.
posted by straight at 3:39 PM on December 10, 2016


> Everyone loves the metal arm line, but mine was "That thing does not obey the laws of physics at all."

For me, it was reading Falcon his rights. They really knocked Spidey out of the park this time, so looking forward to Homecoming.
posted by davelog at 5:47 PM on December 10, 2016


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