'Spider-Man: Far From Home' Turns Nick Fury Into A Mean New Step-Dad
Peter Parker is dead. After Thanos snapped his fingers at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man (Tom Holland) went up in dust in the arms of Tony Stark. But somehow, the webslinger returns in Spider-Man: Far From Home, coming to theaters this summer. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean Peter Parker is back from the dead, especially since Marvel Studios has gone to great lengths to ensure that no one know when in the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline the sequel takes place. But thanks to some new Spider-Man Far From Home details, what we do know is Spidey has a little growing up to do, and Nick Fury is going to make sure of that.
USA Today recently did a quick profile on Spider-Man: Far From Home as part of their summer movie preview. Unfortunately, Jon Watts played coy on how Avengers: Endgame impacts or sets up the wallcrawler's return. The director only offered up the fact that Peter Parker "will have been through a lot" by the time this European vacation comes around. That seems to imply what we're already thinking, but we'll just have to wait and see how Avengers: Endgame plays out.
Thankfully, Watts wasn't so quiet when it came to discussing other elements of the Spider-Man sequel. Since Spider-Man: Homecoming saw Peter Parker making the decision to stay a little closer to the ground instead of flying high as a member of The Avengers, this time he's going to be balancing the desire to keep his teenage life intact for a little longer and dealing with superhero responsibilities when Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and his former SHIELD cohort Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) recruit him for a little espionage. Watts explained:
"I have this memory of being a kid and wanting so desperately to be treated like an adult. And then there's one day, suddenly, where everyone does treat you like an adult and you start to think, 'Oh, I liked it better when I was being treated like a kid. Could I go back?' But by the time that happened, you're never allowed to go back."
Nick Fury Becomes Peter Parker's Mean Step-Dad
Spider-Man may be a superhero, but as Nick Fury has proven time and time again, that doesn't mean you get any special treatment. In fact, it just means Fury can use you for his own means. That's more than a little manipulative since the whole idea of The Avengers was based on a wonderful friendship and partnership he sparked with Captain Marvel back in 1995, but Fury has undoubtedly seen some shit that has hardened his heart since then. So when it comes time to business, he means business.
Here's how Watts described Nick Fury's relationship with Peter Parker:
"If Tony is like the supportive cool uncle, Fury's more like the mean new stepdad. Fury doesn't see himself in Peter Parker. Fury sees Peter Parker as an asset that he needs who is too preoccupied with a bunch of high school problems."
In fact, the director revealed that part of his original pitch when he was only in the running to direct this new Spider-Man franchise was turning into Nick Fury into a mean substitute teacher. It's cool to see how ideas from earlier pitches get reworked for sequels.
The Surprising Influence of Richard Greco
For fans wondering exactly what to expect from Spider-Man: Far From Home this summer, Watts offers up a surprising influence all the way back when Richard Greco was the next big thing. The director compared the Spider-Man sequel to the action comedy If Looks Could Kill from 1991:
"You get to have this teenage James Bond character. Total world-weary Nick Fury and enthusiastic New York teenager Peter Parker gallivanting across Europe – what's more fun than that? You put them together and you have some good stuff."
Well, hopefully Tom Holland doesn't follow in the same footsteps as Richard Greco. But maybe he'll get to drive around in a 1986 Ferrari 328 GTS at some point. After all, he did get a crash course in driving during the climax of Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Spider-Man: Far From Home swings into theaters on the recently bumped up release date of July 2, 2019.