I had the chance to visit New York last weekend and check out an early screening of Spider-Man: Homecoming. (You can catch all of my coverage from the press conference and last year’s set visit over at All Mommy Wants.)
The movie is so good and I’m so ready for everyone else to watch it so I can finally talk spoilers! Ready to check out Spider-Man: Homecoming for yourself? Here are five things you need to know before you head to the movies.
This is the MCU’s Spider-Man.
If you’re a fan of the Tobey or Andrew versions of Spidey, know that there’s no connection here. Instead, this is the Spider-Man you first saw in Captain America: Civil War. And speaking of Civil War, you do get a tiny flashback to some of the action there early in the film. If you’re a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you’ll be a fan of how Peter Parker fits into it.
It’s not an origin story.
Everyone knows about Peter Parker and that radioactive spider. The filmmakers opted to jump right into the action of the film. OK, technically the spider bite gets one quick shoutout. But that’s it. The film doesn’t suffer for it. If you don’t know about the spider? I guess you can Google it.
Peter’s in high school, and he’s going to be there for a while.
In Homecoming, Spidey’s a high school Sophomore. Plans have already been announced for two more films, following a Harry Potter-like pattern of one film per school year. Past film versions have always graduated Peter relatively early in the narrative. There are multiple comic book stories that follow a young Peter Parker. Keeping Peter in high school opens up new plot possibilities that couldn’t be explored in the past. Not to mention, high school is a comic goldmine.
There are Easter Eggs for days.
Hunting for all of the jokes and references in a Marvel film is at least half of the fun. I’m ready for a second viewing so I can find a few more myself. And then I’m ready for all of the official YouTube breakdowns that catch the ones I miss. And then I’ll be ready to watch it again to see the ones they caught in person. You get the idea…
Stay until the end.
It should go without saying that you stay until the lights are up when you watch a Marvel film. But just in case you need the reminder, there’s a mid-credit and end credit stinger. Stay seated…it’s totally worth it.
Spider-Man: Homecoming swings into theaters on July 7, 2017.