The Spider-Man: Far From Home trailer is finally here! As Peter Parker (Tom Holland) quickly points out, he won’t be a “friendly neighborhood Spider-Man” in this one, as for the first time in cinematic history, a Spider-Man movie is taking our hero out of the US for his adventures.
Among other fun things, it reveals who the high profile Marvel Cinematic Universe guest star is in this one, and it also introduces Jake Gyllenhaal as Mysterio. What it (wisely) doesn’t reveal, however, is at what point in the timeline this movie actually takes place… Given Spidey’s, erm, predicament at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, we’re still none the wiser as to whether Far From Home is pre-Thanos snap or post-Endgame (the trailer-makers even seem to have taken the years out of Peter’s hastily glimpsed passport).
Before we dive in, here’s that trailer again:
First and foremost, that’s an A+ use of The Ramones. Henceforth, all Spider-Man movies must be accompanied by at least one Ramones tune. While I Wanna Be Sedated is an all-time classic, it would be nice to hear some more deep cuts in one of these films, too. Still, this is a great sign for what else we might hear in the movie. Spider-Man: Homecoming had a low-key excellent use of punk and new wave and indie tunes, and this would indicate they’ll follow that here.
In case you were wondering how Aunt May took the revelation that her nephew was Spidey at the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming, here’s your answer. May working for assorted homeless charities and shelters is right on the money with some of her activities in the comics over the years, once she stopped being impossibly elderly and constantly on the verge of death.
You have to love how hard these movies lean into the “Aunt May is hot now” thing, which so irritated the internet when Marisa Tomei was first cast.
Well, they sure are going full-blown Peter and MJ in this, and that’s just fine with us. Hopefully they don’t rush this too much, but it’s great to see them connecting further.
Go to sleep, Ned!
Nick Fury keeping tabs on Spider-Man was a feature of the Ultimate Spider-Man comics, where Fury told young Spidey that he was essentially going to be “drafted” into SHIELD service at the age of 18. Nick’s less than friendly appearance here would seem to lean into that pretty heavily.
The red and black Spider-Man design was popular in the early ’90s and was fairly interchangeable with the traditional reds and blues. The web wings were part of Steve Ditko’s original costume design and were a regular feature of the suit for nearly a decade, and they’ve made sporadic appearances since then.
Wait…is that Sandman? Nahhhh…
Hey, we’re even getting a version of Spidey’s stealth suit in here!
Wait…is that Hydro-Man? Nahhhh…
Meet Mysterio! Quentin Beck (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) is a former movie special effects wizard, and here he is posing as a superhero. As the kids point out later in the trailer, his look here is a perfect amalgamation of assorted Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero costume elements.
It’s a safe bet that this particular master of illusion is responsible for all the elemental horrors terrorising Europe, and he’s posing as a superhero for his own ends. You can see how Mysterio in this movie could be a continuation of the theme introduced by Michael Keaton’s Vulture in the first film, about regular working folks feeling useless in the rise of superheroes. Seriously, how exciting could special effects possibly be in a world where Thor and Iron Man exist?
And it’s great that he goes full on “fishbowl head” when he leaps into action.
As for the rest?
Flash Thompson idolizing Spider-Man goes all the way back to the very earliest days of the Spider-Man comics. This is a perfect updating of it, and a great way to end it all on.
Spider-Man: Far From Home opens on 5 July 2019.
This article first appeared on Den of Geek US