Spider-Man's Role In Civil War Might Be Larger Than We Thought

Just how much Spider-Man do we think that we will get in next summer’s Captain America: Civil War? It’s definitely one of the largest unanswered questions surrounding Joe and Anthony Russo’s Marvel sequel. For the longest time, we’d heard that the character’s main scenes had been filmed in Atlanta (either with a stunt man in a costume, or with new Spidey Tom Holland wearing the suit). But a new report suggests that the wall-crawlers presence will be beefed up in Captain America’s next film.

We have been reporting on Captain America: Civil War filming scenes in Berlin over the past few weeks, with the characters of Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) being spotted in paparazzi photography. Yet now, ComicBook.com is going on record to say that Spider-Man actor Tom Holland has "reported to the set in Germany," meaning he might have a larger role than originally anticipated. The site notes that Spider-Man is supposed to sport two different costumes in the movie: one he creates on his own; and one that Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) designs for him. With so many heroes in the reported Berlin scenes, ComicBook suggests that this could be the climactic battle that is being filmed, but that’s pure speculation.

The big question of "how much Spider-Man" leads to a bigger question: how will the Russo brothers balance all of the characters and action that’s reportedly going into Captain America: Civil War? On the surface, there are two major storylines that we know have to be worked out. First, Cap (Chris Evans) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) will hunt down Bucky (Stan), presumably with the help of Ant-Man (Paul Rudd). But the Civil War of the title points to a battle between Cap and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), which will pull in such cursory Avengers as Vision (Paul Bettany), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). We haven’t even touched on Crossbones, Black Panther, or the character who Martin Freeman is playing. So yeah, how many scenes can Spider-Man theoretically earn without it feeling like lip service?

Even if Spider-Man gets shoehorned here in Civil War at least we know that we won’t have that much longer to wait until he gets his own solo adventure. Tom Holland is expected to fully assume the mantle of Peter Parker in an as-yet-untitled Spider-Man movie in July 2017. Between Civil War and that movie, Marvel also will crank out an origin story for Doctor Strange, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, penciled in for May 5, 2017. But this early indicator suggests that Spidey will be swinging through more scenes in Civil War than we expected… for better, or for worse.

Sean O'Connell
Managing Editor

Sean O’Connell is a journalist and CinemaBlend’s Managing Editor. Having been with the site since 2011, Sean interviewed myriad directors, actors and producers, and created ReelBlend, which he proudly cohosts with Jake Hamilton and Kevin McCarthy. And he's the author of RELEASE THE SNYDER CUT, the Spider-Man history book WITH GREAT POWER, and an upcoming book about Bruce Willis.