By the time Spider-Man: Far From Home hits theaters in July 2019, it will be actor Tom Holland‘s fifth turn as the web-slinging superhero. Given how intense the first three films have been (particularly Avengers: Infinity War), fans will be expecting an impressive adventure from the actor’s second solo(ish) outing, and Marvel Studios is using the opportunity to flesh out the Marvel Cinematic Universe in some interesting ways.
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With director Jon Watts returning behind the camera, the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming will be set after Avengers: Endgame, and will take the famous wall-crawler on a European vacation as he explores the post-Infinity Saga MCU — and, possibly, other dimensions.
Here’s everything we know about Spider-Man: Far from Home so far.
- Title: Spider-Man: Far From Home
- Release date: July 5, 2019
- Cast: Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhaal, Marisa Tomei, Zendaya, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders
- Director: Jon Watts
Into the multiverse
Spider-Man: Far From Home‘s second trailer offered the first look at the post-Endgame Marvel Cinematic Universe (along with some hefty Avengers: Endgame spoilers, so watch out), but what really had fans buzzing was the trailer’s confirmation that alternate universes exist in the MCU.
In the trailer, Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury explains that Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio is a hero from another Earth, and that he was able to travel to “our” world after Thanos’ snap tore a hole in reality.
A Spider-Man: Far From Home clip that Gyllenhaal shared on Ellen a few days later offered even more details, confirming that the main MCU reality takes place on Earth-616, which is traditionally the main continuity in Marvel’s comics. By contrast, Mysterio is from Earth-833, where Billy Braddock, aka Spider-U.K., lives (Braddock, who’s usually known as Captain Britain, also got a brief shout-out in Avengers: Endgame).
As dedicated followers of Spider-Man know, the multiverse also played a big part in 2018’s Oscar-winning animated feature Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Does this new information mean that Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen, Peter Porker, and the rest are now canon in the MCU? We sure hope so.
The posters
Between the arrival of Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame‘s big finale, Marvel wanted to make sure that fans don’t forget that Spidey has a movie coming in 2019, too. To that end, the studio released three posters teasing how Peter Parker will spend his European summer vacation with shots of Spider-Man hanging around Venice, Berlin, and London.
The trailer
The first trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home (see above) was released January 15, and offered the first look at Gyllenhaal as Mysterio, as well as the return of several characters from the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The villain
Many of the details surrounding Jake Gyllenhaal’s role in the film — beyond the identity of the character, at least — have remained a closely guarded mystery. Apparently, that secrecy extends to Gyllenhaal himself, who used his first post on Instagram to reveal his reaction upon discovering that he was not, in fact, playing Spider-Man in the film.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrBLFmJgDEM/
Gyllenhaal can be seen reading a copy of Amazing Spider-Man featuring the character Mysterio on the cover, only to express his shock and dismay when it becomes clear that he won’t be playing the web-slinging star of film.
In September, a series of unofficial photos that found their way online near the end of September that appear to show Gyllenhaal in costume — and it’s a surprisingly elaborate costume — as the villain Mysterio.
Spider-Man: Far from Home: Mysterio in Liberec, Czech Republic pic.twitter.com/qfgJDQJQLs
— Marty (@CZMARTY7) September 30, 2018
Spider-Man: Far from Home: Mysterio in Liberec, Czech Republic pic.twitter.com/wpWaWe0oRE
— Marty (@CZMARTY7) September 30, 2018
Several months earlier, The Hollywood Reporter first announced that Gyllenhaal was in talks to portray Mysterio, a frequent foe of Spider-Man in the Marvel Comics universe.
Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first introduced in a 1964 issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, Mysterio is the alter ego of Quentin Beck, a special effects expert who uses his talents to pull off elaborate crimes. Mysterio is considered one of Spider-Man’s most troublesome enemies, as he often makes Spider-Man question his own senses and perception of the world around him, relying more on psychological and chemical weapons than physical attacks.
This will be Gyllenhaal’s first, official role in a mainstream superhero movie after coming close to landing the lead roles in both the original Spider-Man franchise and Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy.
The suit
Spider-Man is getting a new suit when he returns to the big screen, and a set of photos and video that found their way online in October offered the first look at the web-slinger’s new costume. The photos and video were posted on Instagram by a pair of fan sites that were able to get a look at the set of the film, and show off Spider-Man’s new red-and-black suit for Far From Home.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo1n9k4HPJx/?utm_source=ig_embed
The cast
First and foremost among the returning cast members is Tom Holland in the role of Peter Parker (aka Spider-Man), who made his debut as the character in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War.
Holland will be joined in the returning cast from Spider-Man: Homecoming by Marisa Tomei as Peter’s aunt, May Parker; Zendaya as Michelle “M.J.” Jones; Jacob Batalon as Ned, Peter’s best friend; and Tony Revolori as Eugene “Flash” Thompson, Peter’s high-school rival. Michael Keaton is rumored to be reprising his role as Adrian Toomes, the villain known as The Vulture.
From the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe, Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders will reportedly reprise their roles as SHIELD director Nick Fury and agent Maria Hill, respectively. The pair did not appear in Spider-Man: Homecoming but were last seen in one of the post-credits scenes in Avengers: Infinity War. Young Nick Fury also played a big part in Captain Marvel, which doubled as an origin story for the entire MCU.
As for the film’s villain, Jake Gyllenhaal joined the cast in May 2018 as Mysterio, an illusion-manipulating villain and one of Spider-Man’s recurring foes in Marvel Comics history.
The story
One thing we know for sure about the plot of Spider-Man: Far From Home is that it will live up to its title by taking the adventure well outside the U.S.
In April 2018, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige told Gizmodo’s i09 that Far From Home would shoot in London and surrounding areas in the U.K. Although he didn’t give any clues as to what stamps Peter will be adding to his passport, he did strongly hint that the reason for the web-slinger’s travel will be related to the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. The Marvel president noted that Civil War set up Homecoming and said that the two Avengers films “will greatly inform” the upcoming Spider-Man flick — “probably even more so.”
In spite of the fact that Peter will be doing some globetrotting, Feige highlighted in an interview with IGN Africa that we’ll see the superhero trying to return to “normal life.” He pointed out how Peter is “one of us” and “is, quote-unquote, a normal person” despite having powers. To capture that, the sequel will show him back at school and settling into his “normal environment.”
“It’s fun to see that, because he can represent, you know, the world as a whole, as they try to move forward,” Feige said. “And you can do it in a way that is tonally unique, and tonally different than, certainly, the two Avengers films that people are about to see.”
The title
In June, Holland posted a video to Instagram in which he revealed the sequel to Homecoming will be Spider-Man: Far From Home. Feige later confirmed the title.
Updated on May 8, 2019: Added multiverse details.
