How Spider-Man: Homecoming’s Director Came Up With All The New Gadgets

Iron Man and Spider-Man in Homecoming

If there's one thing that Captain America: Civil War delivered to Marvel fans, its the introduction of Tom Hollad's Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Appearing in the third act as a dumpster diving teenager, Spidey made a splash at the big airport battle, as well as the post-credits scene that saw him with some fancy new Stark gadgets. It appears that Spider-Man's suit in Homecoming will feature all sorts of fun features, which has been met with both applause and skepticism by hardcore Spider-fans. But director Jon Watts may have found a way to quiet the naysayers.

Jon Watts recently spoke to the LA Times about his work in the first highly anticipated Spider-Man movie. Regarding Peter Parker's new Stark gifted gadgets and weapons, Watts explained how the original comic informed their decisions. He said,

There's actually a precedent for a lot of these ideas in these comics. In the very first issue of Spider-Man, there was one page dedicated to all the different things that Spider-Man can do with his webs. We would always joke about that because there's web skis, and a web boat, and a web shield.

Take that, haters. If you thought the new gadgets were against the comic version of Spidey, you are dead wrong. At least according to Jon Watts and the first Spider-Man comic.

Personally, I think Spider-Man's tricked out suit is actually a positive aspect of Homecoming. Because between the Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy and the Amazing Spider-Man franchise, audiences have had a ton of Peter Parker in the last decade or so. So Jon Watts and company had to make some changes in order to craft a wholly original and unique version of the character.

And it seems they've succeeded. Peter's relationship with Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark is one of the most appealing aspects of the upcoming blockbuster, as its a plot point we haven't seen from previous Spider-Man movies or any other installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Most heroes are painted as independent and competent, but Peter Parker is an awkward high schooler who is new to the world of superheroics. We'll see him make mistakes, while also trying to navigate the equally challenging world of High School.

Additionally, there has never been a mentor dynamic present in superhero movies other than the X-Men franchise. Tony will try to guide Peter through his life as a budding superhero, mostly because he's largely responsible for it. He plucked Peter Parker out of his normal life to battle the Avengers in Civil War, and he can't expect the teenager to be unaffected by that adventure.

We'll just have to wait and see how Spider-Man and all his wonderful toys function until Spider-Man: Homecoming swings into theaters on July 5, 2017. In the meantime, check out out full release list and plan your next trip to the movies.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.