Why Spider-Man Homecoming Will Be Better Than You Think

Spider-Man finally being able to join the MCU was a huge get for Marvel, but it did mean that fans were going to have to get used to seeing the third iteration of the character to hit the screen in the last 15 years. Reintroducing Peter Parker yet again left many fans scared of seeing the same old origin story, the same old character beats, and the same old villains, making the new Peter just another copy of the old ones. However, Spider-Man: Homecoming is actually shaping up to be a completely new take on the character that promises to be an original and entertaining movie. Here are all the reasons why it'll be even better than you think.

Quite a few people have played Spider-Man at this point, in live action and cartoons, so it has to be hard for each new actor to make the character their own—but Tom Holland proved he was the latest man for the job when he debuted in Captain America: Civil War. Holland's take on Peter Parker was fresh and new, immediately distinguishing himself with just a small amount of screen time. He was funny, quick, and showed that he quickly grasped Spidey's persona. There's also Holland's gymnastics background, which helped him master Spider-Man's unique way of movement and made his stunts feel more genuine and exciting.

It was announced awhile ago that Robert Downey, Jr.'s Tony Stark would make an appearance in Homecoming, and from the trailers, it looks like Iron Man will actually have a pretty big role. The movie looks like it'll further develop the mentoring relationship established between Tony and Peter in Civil War, although there'll be a lot more tension this time around. Tony doesn't want Peter to suit up, instead telling him to focus on high school, something the budding hero clearly isn't willing to do. This causes problems between the two, highlighted in the second trailer, in which Tony takes away the high-tech Spidey suit he gave Peter after a botched rescue mission. "I'm nothing without this suit," Peter tells him. "If you're nothing without this suit, then you shouldn't have it," Tony responds.

The tension should provide a new take on the relationship initially established in Civil War, and will also likely force Tony to take on a more serious and fatherly tone than he has in the past. This should also help to set the movie apart from past Spider-Man films, giving Peter a new mentor—and more reasons to question whether he's capable of being a hero.

However, there will still be light, funny moments between the two. "Just don't do anything I would do," Tony tells Peter in the first trailer. "And definitely don't do anything I wouldn't do. There's a little gray area in there and that's where you operate." Now that's advice we'd like to see someone try to follow.

When Marvel manages to convince a former Batman to cross over and play one of their villains, you know it's going to be good—and casting Michael Keaton was one of the smartest decisions director Jon Watts could have made. Keaton's character, who makes a living scavenging in the rubble left over after superhero battles, goes into recruiting mode when a Stark business venture threatens his livelihood. "The rich and powerful, like Stark, they don't care about us," he tells his henchmen in the second trailer. "The world's changing, boys. Time we changed too." His impressive cast of back-up villains includes the Shocker (Bokeem Woodbine) and the Tinkerer (Michael Chernus).

Keaton's Adrian Toomes, a.k.a. the Vulture, is a former engineer who has some impressive technical skills, allowing him to retrofit what looks to be some pretty scary tech. According to co-producer Eric Hauserman Carroll, he "sort of becomes the dark Tony Stark," which should make for an interesting battle for Peter, especially after Tony decides he no longer wants to help the young hero out.

Vulture is a Spider-Man villain with a lot of comics history—and one we haven't seen onscreen before. A compelling bad guy is crucial to a good superhero film, and it looks like Homecoming will definitely deliver on that front.

As great as Holland, Downey, and Keaton are, the rest of Homecoming's cast is also incredibly impressive. Zendaya is proving to be a force to be reckoned with in her post-Disney Channel career, while the rest of the young cast is full of future stars, including The Grand Budapest Hotel's Tony Revolori, who plays Flash Thompson, and North Woods' Jacob Batalon, who plays Peter's BFF Ned (who, from the trailers, seems like he'll truly be a bright spot—and a huge departure from the character in the comics).

Keaton's backup villains also seem terrifying, with Fargo's Bokeem Woodbine, Orange is the New Black's Michael Chernus, and Prometheus' Logan Marshall Green all taking on evil roles. There's also Donald Glover (who's probably not playing Miles Morales, although we can always hope), plus Hannibal Burress and Kenneth Choi, who will play the gym teacher and principal at Peter's high school. With a cast this full of talent, it'll be hard for Homecoming to fail.

Marvel movies (and comics) have grown more diverse in recent years, and Homecoming looks to continue this trend. In fact, according to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, diversity was an important ingredient in separating the movie from past Spider-Man films. "Our filmmaker came in and had pictures of real high schools, and they are as diverse as you could imagine," Feige said, adding that they wanted the movie to "represent the world today." Bringing more diversity into the MCU is a great idea, and, considering the trailer featured more speaking time for non-white characters than the entirety of some other movies, it looks like the film will definitely deliver on its promise.

Marvel has a habit of finding up-and-coming talent and spurring it through big-budget creative growth, and that appears to be what they're doing with Homecoming as well. Director and co-writer Jon Watts doesn't have many big credits, but what he does have is impressive—he was responsible for a few episodes of the very fun Onion News Network, as well as the acclaimed Kevin Bacon thriller Cop Car.

The script also boasts a number of impressive names outside of Watts. There's also Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, who co-wrote Horrible Bosses, as well as Christopher Ford, who worked with Watts on Cop Car. Filling out the writer's list is Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, of The Lego Batman Movie and Community fame. Looks like the makings of a super script.

Superhero origin stories are beyond overdone at this point, but, with the newest iteration of Spider-Man, we've already skipped past how he got his powers and gotten through his first time suiting up, so now we get to move right into the good stuff. Instead of slogging through the first half of the movie waiting for the hero to figure out what he can do, we get to move straight into having a Spidey who knows how to websling and who already has the costume to match his alternate persona.

However, the origin story feel will still be alive and well in Homecoming. The new story will show Peter trying to prove he really can hack it as a superhero, offering the character establishment and growth of an origin story without going through the same beats we've seen time and time again. Peter will also be a high schooler (played by an actor who's actually close to high school age), which means he still has plenty to learn.

Superhero movies have some of the best onscreen action, and Homecoming looks to be no exception. The trailer teased lots of webslinging fun, including a cute poke at the Avengers when Peter stops a group disguised in the heroes' masks from robbing a store. It looks like Spidey has the same moves we've seen him with before, plus a few new tricks, including the armpit webs and Spider-Tracers from the comics.

One of the coolest scenes shown in the trailers happens when Peter has to pull two sides of a huge vessel together using just his webs (as the Statue of Liberty looms in the background). However, as revealed in the second trailer, this moment likely comes some point in the middle of the film (right at the climax of the conflict between Peter and Tony, after which he takes away the Spidey suit), which means it probably won't be the biggest set piece. Bits teased in the trailers also hint at a dramatic, in-air confrontation that'll find Peter trying to fly a plane with his webs (and avoid being sucked into its engine), and a dramatic confrontation with Vulture at what looks to be an amusement park or pier.

On top of all that, Peter has to save his friends after someone nearly destroys the Washington Monument with them inside (something which could, potentially, result in Zendaya's Michelle finding out his true identity) and has to use his webs to keep an elevator from dropping. From the bits shown in the trailers, it looks like Homecoming will bring a whole new level of action to an already exciting franchise.

Marvel execs are a secretive bunch, and we still don't have confirmation about a lot of Spider-Man: Homecoming's details, including who many of the big-name actors will be playing—or the plot, except for the bits revealed in the trailers (which seem to be focusing heavily on the first half of the movie without giving away a lot about the ending). The movie seems to be relying on the traditional Marvel anticipation, as well as the character's name recognition, to get people to head to the theater, and choosing to keep just about everything else under wraps. This means Homecoming, even though it's telling a familiar story, should still have a lot of surprises in store when it arrives in theaters on July 6.