‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Writers Talk About A Cut Uncle Ben Reference

Thus far, the Marvel Cinematic Universe take on Spider-Man has strayed away from addressing one of the most important characters in the Spider-Man mythos: Uncle Ben, whose dramatically ironic demise serves to teach Peter Parker an iconic lesson about power and responsibility. The writers of Spider-Man: Homecoming have revealed that they were originally going to include a more direct reference to the character and the impact on Peter and Aunt May’s life.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, writer John Francis Daley noted that while Uncle Ben is alluded to in the movie (since Peter mentions that he hasn’t told Aunt May about his status as Spider-Man because she’s been through enough as it is), there was originally a plan to mention him by name, but perhaps not in the way that some fans would expect:

“We did talk about there being a scene where [May] references him directly… It was when [Peter] was getting ready for homecoming and the wardrobe she was giving Peter was all Uncle Ben’s clothes. It was a nice moment, but we also knew that it veered away from his arc. If you’re going to talk about someone’s death, you don’t want it to be a throwaway.”

In addition, writer Jonathan Goldstein also added that they’re interested in the idea of Aunt May dating:

“We loved the idea of a cool aunt… In an early draft we actually even had her dating a guy, and part of her relationship with Peter was this inappropriate frankness. It didn’t make the cut, but I could see in the sequel she could get a boyfriend. She doesn’t have to be a mourning widow.”

This was also alluded to in the movie itself, as a waiter at the Thai restaurant briefly flirted with May. Naturally, it seems like expanding on the respective stories of Peter’s foster parents would be an easy place for the next movie to go to, especially in light of the movie’s final scene. Hopefully, Daley and Goldstein will get to be a part of the writing team on the next movie.

Spider-Man: Homecoming is playing in theaters. The film features a cast that includes Tom Holland as Peter Parker (Spider-Man), Robert Downey Junior as Tony Stark (Iron Man), Zendaya Coleman as Michelle, Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds, Tony Revolori as “Flash” Thompson, Laura Harrier as Liz Allan, Marisa Tomei as May Parker, Jon Favreau as Harold “Happy” Hogan, Donald Glover as Aaron Davis, Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes (Vulture), Bokeem Woodbine as Herman Schultz (Shocker), Michael Chernus as Phineas Mason (Tinkerer), and Michael Mando as Mac Gargan.

Spider-Man will also be appearing in Avengers: Infinity War and its untitled sequel on May 4, 2018 and May 3, 2019 respectively. A second Spider-Man movie set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is set for release on July 5, 2019, with a third standalone movie planned beyond that.

Source: Entertainment Weekly