Image credit: Sony Pictures
The new ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ trailer is finally here and two major criticisms have surfaced. The first issue is how the film seems to have too much Iron Man, and whether it is a good thing. The second criticism is how the trailer seems to have spoiled all the major plot points of the film.
Here is the trailer we are talking about.
We think the trailer (and the film) might not be as problematic as the internet has made it seem. Here are our reasons.
Iron Man may not appear that much in the movie
Tony Starks and his suit does appear prominently in this trailer. That is a fact. But it does not mean that he will appear a lot in the film. From what we have seen so far, he will appear at the beginning to ask Peter Parker (Tom Holland) to leave the supervillains to the professionals and towards the end of the film to save the cruise ship and then to take away Peter’s suit. All those scenes will probably total up to at most 10 minutes? It is too early to say. We might have seen most of Iron Man’s scenes. Marvel is obviously banking on Robert Downey Jr.s popularity and Captain America: Civil War’s success to market the film.
In addition, there will be many other characters whose relationships with Peter would be explored, such as Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), his best friend Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon), his schoolmates Michelle (Zendaya), Liz Allan (Laura Herrier), and Flash Thompson (Tony Revolori). Some screentime would also be dedicated to the villain Vulture (Michael Keaton) and Shocker (Bokeem Woodbine).
Image credit: Sony Pictures
Iron Man’s presence is a good thing
There have been two other Peter Parkers and five Spider-Man films in the last 15 years. The latest one was only 3 years ago. Marvel obviously needs to shake things up and present something new to the audience to avoid rehashing the same stories. Having Iron Man not only makes sense due to the Civil War connection, but also presents a father figure to an orphaned boy who lost his Uncle Ben. Also, since this is the youngest iteration of Peter Parker so far, he could definitely use a mentor.
The presence of Iron Man also cements the film’s existence in Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). This trailer also shows Peter and Ned watching a Captain America video in school and the Vulture saying “The rich and powerful like Stark, they don’t care about us.” But these would just be cheap references if nobody appears in the film. Having no or little connection to other characters would defeat the purpose of having Spider-Man back in MCU. Who knows how long this deal with Sony will last?
Image credit: Sony Pictures
Revealing too much might not be a bad thing (for Marvel)
We cannot deny that this trailer reveals major plot points of the film more than most other movie trailers. It was clearly a dangerous move that has received a lot of backlash. Most superhero films are already predictable without giving away so much in the trailers, which Marvel has never done before.
Nevertheless, this might be Marvel’s plan all along. With the saturation of Spider-Man films out there, it might be a good idea to let audience know exactly what they will get. More importantly, this move creates conversations. In the era where studios release trailers after trailers with only minor changes in between and with teasers to tease the trailers, people pay attention to those who dare to reveal more. Rarely does a second trailer get so much online attention. It is hard to imagine that this is not a calculated move.
And let’s face it, even with these negative reactions, in what universe will this film not be an international box office success?
What are your thoughts about the trailer? Does it make you more or less excited to watch the film? Tell us in the comments below.
‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ opens in theatres 6 July 2017.