Marvel Studios is at risk of repeating Sony Pictures' past mistakes by introducing too many villains in Spider-Man: Far From Home. Some Spider-fans have grown concerned by the recent rumors regarding more and more of the wall-crawler's classic rogues gallery being involved in the MCU Spider-Man's second solo outing. Their worries are not unjustified, considering that an overabundance of antagonists cluttering the plot is part of what led to Sony's two previous attempts at establishing a long-running Spider-Man franchise being cut short.
Little has been revealed so far regarding the cast of the upcoming sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming. A number of new actors have been confirmed as being in the film - including Numan Acar, J.B. Smoove and Remy Hii - but what characters they are playing (villain or not) remains a mystery. The only villain confirmed so far is The Vulture, who will once again be played by Michael Keaton.
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The MCU Spider-Man franchise is undoubtedly building toward the establishment of The Sinister Six - one of Marvel Comics' first super-villain groups and the most prominent one to devote itself towards a single superhero's destruction. While it seems logical that the formation of the villainous group should be saved for a third Spider-Man movie, there's been speculation that we may see the Sinister Six introduced in Far From Home - but previous movies have somewhat dampened enthusiasm for seeing Spider-Man battle various supervillains in the same movie.
- This Page: The Trouble With Too Many Villains
- Page 2: Far From Home's Villains Could Make Or Break The Movie
Spider-Man's Multiple Villain Problem
While Spider-Man 3 is far from the worst superhero movie ever made, most would agree it was a definite step-down in quality from Spider-Man 2 and that it tried to do far too much. Director Sam Raimi has said as much, admitting that the movie "just didn’t work very well" and the the primary reason for this was that he "didn’t really believe in all the characters." This is almost certainly a reference to Venom, who was only included in the movie at Sony's insistence. Before their edict, Raimi's original screenplay had been based around The Sandman and Harry Osborn following in his father's footsteps to become the second Green Goblin.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was similarly over-packed, and some felt its story was even more piecemeal and built by committee than the ultimate story of Spider-Man 3. Though the main story of the movie pitted Spider-Man against Electro, the conclusion also had him facing off against Harry Osborn, who became the first Green Goblin in this reality. The Rhino was also introduced into the movie (albeit in a mechanical suit of armor rather than the classic costume from the comics) with the film ending anti-climatically as Spider-Man was about to fight him. The movie also hinted at more villains coming into existence, with one scene showing the familiar flying suit of The Vulture and the mechanical tentacles of Doctor Octopus.
In both films, the effort to fit more villains into the story proved detrimental. In the case of Spider-Man 3, Raimi was forced to play out the complete Alien Costume Saga from the comics and introduce the character of Eddie Brock so he could become Venom, in addition to establishing the origins of The Sandman, allowing Peter to investigate the truth behind his Uncle Ben's murder and playing out Harry Osborn's transformation into the new Green Goblin. This ultimately resulted in far too much story for a single film and every subplot feeling rushed and underdeveloped. By contrast, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 seemed more focused on setting up its sequel (and a possible Sinister Six spin-off) than telling its own tale.
Page 2: Far From Home's Villains Could Make Or Break The Movie
Far From Home Has A Lot Of Rumored Villains
The rumors about Far From Home suggest that Marvel Studios may be pushing to prove that they can succeed where Sony failed by introducing more Spider-Man villains than ever into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While a number of actors have been confirmed as appearing in Far From Home, Marvel Studios is staying silent about what roles they are playing. This, coupled with a number of reports as to what villains have been mentioned in the script, has resulted in a lot of speculation with little known for certain beyond Michael Keaton's return as The Vulture.
We know Jake Gyllenhaal has been cast as the main villain, but that villain's identity is has yet to be confirmed. The smart money seems to be on Gyllenhaal playing Quentin Beck - a special-effects artist who turns his talent for crafting incredibly realistic illusions to crime as the malevolent Mysterio. This seems a safe bet, as Mysterio is one of the most popular of Spider-Man's classic enemies and one fans have been aching to see on the big-screen for years. Mysterio's story from the comics would also offer parallels to that of The Vulture in Homecoming and a bit of ironic commentary if they portrayed Beck as a decent man who only turned to crime after the Hollywood establishment abandoned him and his practical effects in favor of CGI.
Similarly, we know that Numan Acar is playing a man named Dmitri, but little else beyond that. There has been some speculation that this character might be Dmitri Smerdyakov - a spy and master of disguise known as The Chameleon. While this seems a likely guess, there is little to confirm it beyond the name and the fact that The Chameleon and Mysterio would prove likely partners given their mutual talents for deception and misdirection.
Beyond that, it is almost anyone's guess what villains might be popping up in Far From Home. One video posted by Tom Holland revealed that Peter will get hit with a giant wave at some point, fueling speculation that the water-manipulating Hydro-Man might be in the movie. Another report regarding a LEGO set based on the movie suggests that the heat-projecting Molten Man may be showing up. Then there's the question of whom J.B Smoove and Remy Hii will be playing.
Related: Spider-Man Can Fight The Sinister Six in Far From Home
Homecoming Balanced Multiple Villains Well
There's a fair chance that all of this speculation and panic may be much ado about nothing. While Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 fumbled their attempts at handling multiple villains, there is one Spider-Man movie that managed a large cast of villains with style - Spider-Man: Homecoming. It managed this, ironically, by realizing it would be impossible to properly develop multiple villains in a single film, and not wasting time trying. Instead, the focus was placed on Michael Keaton's Vulture, with the other villains being supporting members of his crew or potential buyers of the high-tech weapons they were developing.
This allowed Homecoming to feature The Vulture, along with The Tinkerer (Adrian Toomes' employee who built all of their gear) and two versions of The Shocker. Mac Gargen, the man who became The Scorpion in the comics, was introduced as one of Vulture's customers, who was captured by Spider-Man and sent to prison. The movie also managed a nod to The Prowler - a high-tech burglar named Aaron Davis, who had enough of a code of basic decency to work against other costumed criminals who thought nothing of killing people. In the movie, Davis was the weapons dealer who helped Spider-Man track down Vulture, after refusing to buy any of his gear because he was worried about alien technology being let loose in his neighborhood and endangering his nephew.
The Sinister Six Are Surely Coming
Regardless of how many villains wind up being in Far From Home, it seems clear that Marvel Studios is building toward eventually establishing some form of Sinister Six - a team made up of Spider-Man's worst enemies, who first joined forces in the 1964's Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1. Sony originally had plans to make a Sinister Six movie, but these were shelved along with the plans for further movies in the Amazing Spider-Man series of films starring Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker.
The chief question fans may need to consider is which incarnation of the Sinister Six we might see in the Spider-Man movie that follows Far From Home. Thus far, most of the team's original line-up doesn't exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Marvel Studios seems to have been focusing on those Spider-Man villains who haven't been depicted in any earlier movies. This means it's unlikely we'll see the likes of Doctor Octopus, Sandman or Electro anytime soon, and the status of Kraven The Hunter, who is currently being considered for a solo movie at Sony, is equally up in the air. Still, the team has seen numerous incarnations over the years and any one of them would prove a formidable challenge for Spider-Man and a solid basis for a film's storyline.
More: Spider-Man: Far From Home - Every Update You Need To Know
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