Phew! After a rollercoaster couple of weeks where negotiations broke down between Sony and Marvel and it looked as though Spider-Man would be leaving the MCU on a giant cliffhanger, the two studios finally decided to play nice. Sony has allowed Marvel to make another Spidey solo movie with Tom Holland to wrap up his trilogy and follow on from this year’s Far From Home.
Going into Spider-Man 3, what could happen is anyone’s guess, especially knowing that it’ll be leading towards Spidey’s eventual exit from the MCU. So, here are 10 Things We Want To See In The MCU’s Spider-Man 3.
Acknowledgment of Uncle Ben
We need an acknowledgment of Uncle Ben’s existence in this Spider-Man’s world. So far, Tony Stark and Happy Hogan have filled Ben’s shoes as Peter’s older mentor figure, and we’ve had hints that Aunt May has suffered a recent loss and Peter used a suitcase with Ben’s initials on it.
But Ben’s death hasn’t been directly addressed, and with Peter’s world getting turned upside down, the threequel is the perfect time to address it. Maybe he can discuss Ben’s death with May or visit his grave. Either way, Uncle Ben needs to be acknowledged, because it doesn’t feel like a Spider-Man story without him.
Kraven the Hunter
Director Jon Watts has said that his top choice for the villain in Spider-Man 3 is Kraven the Hunter, and most Marvel fans agree. He’s one of the webslinger’s most iconic foes to have been left un-adapted for this long. Peter’s identity being revealed to the world, forcing him to go on the run, sets the stage perfectly for Kraven to make an appearance.
His whole deal in the comics is that he sees hunting and killing Spider-Man as a challenge worthy of his talents as a big-game hunter. Someone out there will have put a bounty on Spidey’s head, and knowing Peter’s identity will give Kraven a reason to try to get it.
Peter teaming up with another MCU hero
The MCU’s Spider-Man movies have been criticized for emphasizing the wider universe, essentially clipping Peter Parker’s wings and stranding him in Tony Stark’s shadow. But if any Spider-Man movie needs a team-up with another hero, it’s his upcoming third solo MCU entry. Some fans have suggested that either Jen Walters (She-Hulk) or Matt Murdock (Daredevil) could represent Spider-Man in court against the claims that he orchestrated the attack in London.
Tom Holland personally wants to see Spidey team up with Doctor Strange to contrast a man of science and a man of magic. Plenty of Spidey team-ups would be fun – Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Deadpool, the Fantastic Four, Wolverine – so whoever Marvel chooses will undoubtedly be fine.
Classic banter between Spider-Man and J. Jonah Jameson
Marvel fans were delighted when Spider-Man: Far From Home not only confirmed the existence of J. Jonah Jameson in the MCU, but also brought back J.K. Simmons from the Sam Raimi trilogy to play him.
Jameson is a significant part of the Spidey mythology that we have yet to see Tom Holland’s Peter Parker face and Simmons nails this character in a way that no other actor could (it’s for this same reason that James Earl Jones was re-recruited to voice Mufasa in The Lion King remake). In the comics, Spidey’s banter with Jameson has always been really fun, so Spider-Man 3 should use it.
The Scorpion
Mac Gargan was introduced in Spider-Man: Homecoming and teased for greater things in a post-credits scene where he said that if he knew Spidey’s real name, he knew some guys who could find him and kill him. Well, he knows Spidey’s real name now, so it’s the perfect time to follow that up.
Michael Mando, otherwise known for his role as Nacho in Better Call Saul, is a terrific actor who would do wonders if he was given a larger, meatier role than he got in Homecoming. Not all superhero movies need two villains, but the supporting villain can be an interesting role if it’s handled well (Christopher Nolan did a great job of this in The Dark Knight trilogy), so there’s a way for Spider-Man 3 to make two villains work.
Peter and M.J. out of the honeymoon phase
Spider-Man: Far From Home saw Peter and M.J. finally get together. At the end of the movie, we see them on a date, swinging through the streets of New York, and everything seems to be going great. But as with all relationships, this is just the honeymoon phase. Eventually, the cracks will start to show.
Spider-Man 3 has a lucrative opportunity to use Far From Home’s happy ending as the beginning of new problems. Now that Peter is on the run from the law, struggling to clear his name, and needs to be Spider-Man more than ever, M.J. will begin to discover the baggage that comes along with dating a superhero.
Flash reacting to Peter being Spider-Man
Although the MCU’s Flash Thompson, played by Tony Revolori, is very different from the macho jock he is in the comics, the ultimate truth of the character is the same, that he constantly bullies Peter Parker and idolizes Spider-Man without realizing they’re one and the same. (Plus, Revolori’s version of Flash is funnier than the traditional incarnations of the character.)
With Spidey’s identity now all over the news, Flash will have to learn that the kid he’s been mocking all these years is really his greatest hero. It’ll be an entertaining next step in Peter and Flash’s hilarious, well-established dynamic.
The continuation of Aunt May and Happy Hogan’s relationship
Happy Hogan dating Aunt May is an interesting way to keep Tony Stark’s best friend in the MCU following Tony’s death. May deserves to find happiness, Happy’s interactions with Peter are priceless, and they were established as one of the most unexpected and out-of-the-left-field couples to emerge in the MCU.
So, it seems like a no-brainer to keep their courtship around, especially since Peter will now need Happy’s help to stay off the grid and fight the charges being levied against him. This is a prime opportunity for Happy and May’s relationship to develop – it’s a life-changing event that will test their chemistry.
Immediately start paying off the big plot twist
The shocking twist ending of Spider-Man: Far From Home was a little like the one in John Wick: Chapter 2. Both end with their heroes at their lowest point – Peter Parker, with the world finding out his identity and mistaking him for a murder, and John Wick, with every assassin in the criminal underworld coming after him – and both set up the premise of their threequels in the twist.
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum immediately started paying off that twist in the movie’s opening action. It won’t be interesting to start Spider-Man 3 a year after Peter’s identity was revealed or focus on something else for the first act. Fans going into the threequel will be waiting for the payoff from Far From Home’s big twist, so Spider-Man 3 should just pick up where that mid-credits scene left off.
The Sinister Six at least beginning to form
If the MCU’s Spidey will eventually be dropped off in the Sony universe, then Spider-Man 3 can start to build towards the Sinister Six. It’s unclear exactly how all of this will work, whether or not Sony will need to recast any of the villains or supporting players from the MCU to use them in their own movies, but it is clear that Sony wants to make a Sinister Six movie, and they want the Sinister Six to eventually face Spider-Man in their universe.
So, if Spider-Man 3 at least begins to bring in the Sinister Six – showing the Vulture escaping from prison (possibly using Thanos’ finger-snap), confirming that Mysterio’s death was an illusion etc. – it’ll plant the seeds for that.
