Kevin Feige Says The Next Spider-Man Story Has "Never Been Done Before On Film"
Despite having three different Spider-Man film franchises, the stories and villains we've seen brought to the big screen haven't had as much variety as you'd think. Sam Raimi's original Spider-Man saga revolved heavily around Peter Parker's relationship with Mary Jane Watson, his complicated friendship with Harry Osborn and his villainous father Norman Osborn, and The Amazing Spider-Man series tread similar territory, albeit with Gwen Stacy in place of Mary Jane and a much more ambitious set-up for the Sinister Six that never came to fruition.
But when it comes to the new Spider-Man franchise, we've seen plenty of stories that were never possible, and that's largely thanks to the webslinger's presence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And according to Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige, that trend will continue in the next chapter of the Spider-Man series, which will adapt a Peter Parker story that has "never been done before on film."
In order to discuss that possible storyline, we have to dive into spoiler territory for Spider-Man: Far From Home, so if you haven't seen it yet, that's your cue to run off.
Kevin Feige was recently asked about the mid-credits scene from Spider-Man: Far From Home. In the scene, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) saw his secret identity revealed in a video that a dying Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) had leaked to TheDailyBugle.net, a website run by the abrasive J. Jonah Jameson, played again by J.K. Simmons, reprising his role from Sam Raimi's original Spider-Man trilogy. That felt like a pretty clear set-up for what's to come in whatever the Spider-Man Far From Home sequel will be, and Kevin Feige confirmed as much to Fandango:
Much like the end of Iron Man, saying, okay, the rules have changed. Which now means we're going to have to do something completely different next time. The how and the when and the specifics can change and evolve, but setting yourself up for something that has never been done before... at the end of Iron Man, it was a hero publicly outing himself so that in the next movies and all subsequent movies, we couldn't fall back on the secret identity trope which had been part of Iron Man's story for decades in the comics.
There's a part of me that was actually a little disappointed by this reveal. Peter Parker was the only superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a secret identity (though I suppose it's possible the general public outside of Wakanda doesn't know that the nation's king is the Black Panther). That element gave him something to protect, a challenge that no other superhero had to deal with in the MCU. But at the same time, this opens up the field for a new kind of story that Peter Parker hasn't faced before. Feige continued:
"And now people know Peter's identity. People now think he's a villain. Mysterio plays one last trick on him and succeeds... [so that] means everything's different. Where it goes, we'll see. But it's exciting that it once again sets us up for a Peter Parker story that has never been done before on film."
In addition to that aspect of Peter Parker's story, there seems to be the potential for Marvel Studios to bring another villain to the big screen that audiences haven't seen yet. Director Jon Watts recently mentioned his interest in bringing Kraven the Hunter into the MCU for Spider-Man's third adventure. Funnily enough, writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers have been thinking the same thing.
It just so happens there's a whole storyline called "Kraven's Last Hunt" about the villain hunting down Spider-Man, and it's one of the most highly regarded Spider-Man comic arcs. It would be a challenge to adapt that into the MCU, but it's not necessarily impossible. What makes "Kraven's Last Hunt" even more interesting for the film franchise is that it features Spider-Man wearing the black Spidey suit. That's something that would be a great set-up for the eventual crossover with Venom that Kevin Feige recently indicated was likely to happen at some point.
As of now, we don't know when we'll see Spider-Man return to the big screen. Since Sony Pictures has some sway here, we're betting it'll be sooner than later, but it all depends on whatever else Marvel has planned over the next few years. We'll find out more during the Marvel Studios panel at Comic-Con later this month, so stay tuned.