Spider-Man: Homecoming


Spider-Man: Homecoming is a 2017 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, produced by Columbia Pictures, Marvel Studios, and Pascal Pictures, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It is the second Spider-Man film reboot and the 16th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film was directed by Jon Watts from a screenplay by the writing teams of Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, Watts and Christopher Ford, and Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. Tom Holland stars as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, alongside Michael Keaton, Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Bokeem Woodbine, Tyne Daly, Marisa Tomei, and Robert Downey Jr. In the film, Parker tries to balance high school life with being Spider-Man while facing the Vulture.
In February 2015, Marvel Studios and Sony reached a deal to share the film rights for Spider-Man, integrating the character into the established MCU. The following June, Holland was cast as the title character, and Watts was hired to direct. This was followed shortly by the hiring of Daley and Goldstein. In April 2016, the film's title was revealed, along with additional cast, including Downey in his MCU role of Tony Stark / Iron Man. Principal photography began in June 2016 at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Fayette County, Georgia, and continued in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York City. The other screenwriters were revealed during filming, which concluded in Berlin in October 2016. The production team made efforts to differentiate the film from previous Spider-Man films.
Spider-Man: Homecoming premiered in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on June 28, 2017, and was released in the United States on July 7, as part of Phase Three of the MCU. Homecoming grossed $880.9million worldwide, becoming the second-most-successful Spider-Man film and the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2017. It received praise for the light tone, its focus on Parker's high school life, and the performances, particularly of Holland and Keaton. Two sequels have been released: Spider-Man: Far From Home and Spider-Man: No Way Home. A new trilogy of live-action films from Sony and Marvel Studios is in development.

Plot

Following the Battle of New York in 2012, Adrian Toomes and his salvage company are contracted to clean up the city, but their operation is taken over by the Department of Damage Control, a partnership between Tony Stark and the U.S. government. Enraged at being driven out of business, Toomes persuades his employees to keep the Chitauri technology they have already scavenged and use it to create and sell advanced weapons, including a flying Vulture suit Toomes uses to steal Chitauri power cells.
Eight years later, after being drafted into the Avengers by Stark to help with an internal dispute in Germany, Peter Parker resumes his studies at the Midtown School of Science and Technology when Stark tells him he is not yet ready to become a full-time Avenger. Parker quits his school's academic decathlon team to spend more time focusing on his crime-fighting activities as Spider-Man. His best friend, Ned, eventually discovers his secret identity.
Parker comes across Toomes's associates Jackson Brice / Shocker and Herman Schultz selling weapons to local criminal Aaron Davis. Parker saves Davis before being caught by Toomes in the Vulture suit and dropped in a lake, nearly drowning after becoming tangled in a parachute built into his suit. He is rescued by Stark, who is monitoring the Spider-Man suit he gave Parker and warns him against further involvement with the criminals. Toomes accidentally kills Brice with one of their weapons and Schultz becomes the new Shocker.
Parker and Ned study a weapon Brice left behind, removing its power core. When a tracking device on Schultz leads to Maryland, Parker rejoins the decathlon team and accompanies them to Washington, D.C. for their national tournament. Ned and Parker disable the tracker Stark implanted in the Spider-Man suit, and unlock its advanced features. Parker tries to stop Toomes from stealing weapons from a DODC truck but is trapped inside, causing him to miss the decathlon tournament. When he discovers that the power core is an unstable Chitauri grenade, he races to the Washington Monument, where the core is activated and explodes, trapping Ned and their friends in an elevator. Parker saves them, including his classmate and crush Liz. Days later, in New York City, aboard the Staten Island Ferry, Parker captures Toomes's new buyer Mac Gargan but Toomes escapes and a malfunctioning weapon tears the ferry in half. Stark helps Parker save the passengers, but confiscates his suit as punishment for his recklessness.
Parker returns to his high school life and asks Liz to go to the homecoming dance with him. On the night of the dance, he discovers that Toomes is Liz's father. Deducing Parker's secret identity, Toomes threatens him. Parker realizes Toomes is planning to hijack a DODC plane transporting weapons from Avengers Tower to the team's new headquarters in Upstate New York. He leaves the dance and dons his old homemade Spider-Man suit. Though he is ambushed outside by Schultz, he defeats him with Ned's help. He races to Toomes's lair, where Toomes attacks Parker, destroying the building's support columns, and leaves Parker to die, trapped in the rubble of the collapsed building. Gaining the motivation from his inner strength, Parker escapes and intercepts the plane, steering it to crash on the beach at Coney Island. He and Toomes continue fighting, ending with Parker saving Toomes's life after the damaged Vulture suit explodes. Parker leaves Toomes for the police along with the plane's cargo. After her father's arrest, Liz moves away. Parker declines an invitation from Stark to join the Avengers full time, and Stark proposes to Pepper Potts. Stark also returns the Spider-Man suit to Parker, who puts it on just as his aunt May walks in.
In a mid-credits scene, an incarcerated Gargan approaches Toomes in prison, saying he has heard that the latter knows Spider-Man's real identity, though Toomes denies this.

Cast

  • Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man:
A 15-year-old who gained spider-like abilities after being bitten by a radioactive spider. Producers Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal were impressed by Holland's performances in The Impossible, Wolf Hall, and In the Heart of the Sea. Holland took inspiration from previous Spider-Man actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield but also hoped to deliver something "new and exciting" with his take on the character, the first to focus on Parker as "dealing with everyday problems that a 15-year-old deals with as well as trying to save the city". Holland attended the Bronx High School of Science in the Bronx for a few days to prepare for the role, where other students did not believe he was cast as Spider-Man. Holland felt this would carry over well to the film, where other characters do not suspect Parker of being Spider-Man. It took 25 to 45 minutes for Holland to get into costume, depending on if he had to wear a stunt harness underneath the suit. Holland initially signed for six MCU films, including three Spider-Man films.
  • Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes / Vulture:
A salvager-turned-arms-trafficker after his company is forced out of business. He uses a suit with mechanical wings forged from Chitauri technology. Toomes is revealed to be the father of Liz, Parker's love interest. Director Jon Watts wanted him to be a "regular guy", closer to John C. Reilly's Nova Corpsman Rhomann Dey from Guardians of the Galaxy than other MCU villains like Thanos and Ultron, to go with Spider-Man as a "regular kid who becomes a superhero". This helped avoid Toomes drawing the attention of the Avengers, and provided someone that Parker would be able to defeat while still learning to use his abilities. Keaton said Toomes was not completely villainous, as "there's parts of him that you go, 'You know what? I might see his point.'" Co-producer Eric Hauserman Carroll likened Toomes to "the dark Tony Stark", a "businessman with a family. He wants to look out for his kids... He doesn't have these big delusions of grandeur where he wants to take over the world, or replace the government, or even defeat the Avengers or anything. He just wants his shot at the good life." Keaton was not hesitant to portray another comic book character after playing Batman in Tim Burton's 1989 film and its 1992 sequel.
  • Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan:
The former head of security for Stark Industries and Tony Stark's driver and bodyguard. Hogan is "looking after" Parker in the film, with Favreau saying that Parker "needs someone to help him out". Favreau previously portrayed Hogan in the Iron Man films, having also directed the first two of those, and described returning as just an actor as fun, allowing him "to maintain the relationship with the MCU... Especially when the filmmakers are taking care of you, and taking care of the characters and the story."
  • Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts: Tony Stark's fiancée and the CEO of Stark Industries.
  • Zendaya as Michelle:
One of Parker's classmates, also known as "MJ". Zendaya, calling her awkward but intellectual, said that "she just feels like she doesn't need to talk to people" because of her intelligence. She added that it was "refreshing" that Michelle was weird and different, feeling that "a lot of young people—especially young women—can relate to that." Watts likened the character to Ally Sheedy's Allison Reynolds from The Breakfast Club or Linda Cardellini's Lindsay Weir from Freaks and Geeks. The character is not a direct adaptation of Mary Jane Watson, but was given the initials "MJ" to "remind you of that dynamic", with the writers "plant the seeds in this movie" for comparisons to Watson, but also making her "wholly different". Feige added that Michelle is "not obsessed with" Parker like Watson is at times in the comics, "she's just observant". Her full name, Michelle Jones-Watson, was revealed in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
  • Donald Glover as Aaron Davis:
A criminal looking to purchase weapons from Toomes. Davis is the uncle of Miles Morales, an inheritor of the Spider-Man mantle, in the comics. Glover voiced Morales in the Ultimate Spider-Man television series, and campaigned to portray Spider-Man in a film in 2010. Watts was aware of the campaign, and as soon as he was hired he asked Feige about casting Glover. The role was designed as "a surprise treat for fans", with Davis mentioning his nephew to set up Morales potentially appearing in a future MCU film. Watts insisted Glover accept the part, assuring him that if he declined the offer, he would have scrapped Davis from the film.
  • Jacob Batalon as Ned:
Parker's best friend, who is a "complete gamer". Batalon described him as "the quintessential best guy, the best man, the number two guy, the guy in the chair" for Parker. Marvel used Ned Leeds as a basis for the character, who does not have a last name in the script or film, but essentially created their own character with him. Carroll said that Ned and other characters in the film are composites of several of their favorites from Spider-Man comics, notably Ganke Lee, who is Miles Morales' best friend in Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man. He is given the last name "Leeds" in the sequel Spider-Man: Far From Home, which was confirmed in No Way Home.
  • Laura Harrier as Liz: A senior, Parker's love interest, and Toomes's daughter, with a "type-A" personality.
  • Tony Revolori as Flash:
Parker's rival and classmate. It was noted that the character is generally depicted as a white bully in the comics; the Guatemalan American actor received death threats upon his casting. Revolori worked hard "to do him justice", as he is an important character to the fans. Rather than being a physically imposing jock, Flash Thompson was reimagined as "a rich, smug kid" to reflect modern views of bullying, by crafting him more into a social media bully and rival for Parker opposed to a jock; this depiction was largely informed by Holland's visit to the Bronx High School of Science. Revolori said that Flash has to work hard to match Parker's intelligence, which is "one of the reasons he doesn't like Peter. Everyone else seems to like Peter, so he's like, why don't they like me like they like him?" Revolori gained for the role.
  • Bokeem Woodbine as Herman Schultz / Shocker: An accomplice of Toomes who is the second person to use modified, vibro-blast shooting versions of Brock Rumlow's gauntlets.
  • Tyne Daly as Anne Marie Hoag: The head of the U.S. Department of Damage Control.
  • Marisa Tomei as May Parker:
Peter's aunt. First reports of Tomei's casting caused backlash on social media, with comic book fans opining that the actress was "too young and attractive to portray the character", especially after the character had previously been depicted by actresses older than Tomei. Regarding the casting, Captain America: Civil War co-writer Stephen McFeely said that, for the MCU, they were trying to make Peter "as naturalistic as possible...That's partly why his aunt isn't 80 years old; if she's the sister of his dead mother, why does she have to be two generations ahead?" Carroll added that the creative team was looking for more of a "big sister" or someone closer in age to Peter Parker in the casting process. After researching the character, Tomei did make "a case to age me up, but no they didn't do it". Tomei felt there was a "blank slate" from which she could develop the character, and talked to Watts about May being "a community organizer or invested in the neighborhood" to indicate where Peter's values come from.
  • Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man:
A self-described genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, and an Avenger with electromechanical suits of armor of his own invention who is Parker's mentor and the creator of the U.S. Department of Damage Control. Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group chairman Tom Rothman noted that, beyond the commercial advantage of featuring Downey in the film, the inclusion of Stark was important due to the relationship established between him and Parker in Captain America: Civil War. Watts noted that after Stark's actions in Civil War, introducing Parker to life as an Avenger, there are "a lot of repercussions to that. Is it a first step towards Tony as some sort of mentor figure? Is he comfortable with that?" Co-writer Jonathan Goldstein compared Stark to Ethan Hawke's father character in Boyhood.
Additionally, Kerry Condon and Chris Evans reprise their roles as F.R.I.D.A.Y. and Steve Rogers / Captain America from previous MCU films, respectively. Rogers appears in public service announcements played at Parker's school. Garcelle Beauvais portrays Doris Toomes, Adrian's wife and Liz's mother, and Jennifer Connelly provides the voice of Karen, the A.I. in Parker's suit. Hemky Madera appears as Mr. Delmar, the owner of a local bodega, while Gary Weeks portrays Damage Control agent Foster. Logan Marshall-Green plays Jackson Brice, the first Shocker, who is an accomplice of Toomes who uses modified, vibro-blast shooting versions of Brock Rumlow's gauntlets. Other business partners of Toomes include: Michael Chernus as Phineas Mason, Michael Mando as Mac Gargan, and Christopher Berry as Randy Vale.
Faculty at Parker's high school include: Kenneth Choi, who previously played Jim Morita in the MCU, as Jim's descendant Principal Morita; Hannibal Buress as Coach Wilson, the school's gym teacher, who he described as "one of the dumbass characters that don't realize Spider-Man"; Martin Starr, who reprises his previously unnamed role from The Incredible Hulk, as Mr. Harrington, a teacher and academic decathlon coach; Selenis Leyva as Ms. Warren; Tunde Adebimpe as Mr. Cobbwell; and John Penick as Mr. Hapgood. Parker's classmates include: Isabella Amara as Sally; Jorge Lendeborg Jr. as Jason Ionello; Josie Totah as Seymour; Abraham Attah as Abraham; Tiffany Espensen as Cindy; Angourie Rice as Betty Brant; Michael Barbieri as Charles; and Ethan Dizon as Tiny. Martha Kelly appears in the film as a tour guide, Zach Cherry appears as a street vendor who asks Spider-Man to "do a flip", and Kirk Thatcher makes a cameo appearance as a "punk", an homage to his role in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee also has a cameo, as a New York City apartment resident named Gary who witnesses Parker's confrontation with a neighbor.