Jon Watts, the director of Spider-Man: Homecoming, discusses the choice to not showing Peter being bitten by the radioactive spider. Tom Holland first appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War six years ago. Peter Parker had already been active as Spider-Man within the MCU before the start of that film, and many expected his first solo picture, Spider-Man: Homecoming, would portray his origin story.
However, unlike Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man, that were origin stories that depicted Peter growing his powers and becoming the legendary superhero, Spider-Man: Homecoming skipped it. Instead, the film begins with Peter attempting to become a full-fledged superhero, while the origin is alluded to in conversation. The MCU’s series continued with two more chapters, but Peter’s important origin tale moments of being bitten by the spider and Uncle Ben’s death were never portrayed, leaving some audience members angry at not witnessing how this Spider-Man began his journey.
Spider-Man: Homecoming director Jon Watts discusses the decision to not portray Spider-origin Man’s story in the latest book With Great Power: How Spider-Man Conquered Hollywood During in the Golden Age of Comic Book Blockbusters by author Sean O’Connell. This put Peter in the same mindset as the viewers, as he tried to piece together and comprehend how his skills worked. The following is Watts’ whole quote:
“It was just so nice to skip past it and just deal with more with the repercussions… and just explore it from the perspective of someone else finding out about it and having a lot of questions.”
Is it necessary for audiences to see each origin?
Even by time Spider-Man: Homecoming arrived in theaters, fans had already watched five Spider-Man films and many animated shows that all touched on his origin narrative. It was so familiar territory that it was safe to presume anyone going into Spider-Man: Homecoming was aware with the hero’s origins, allowing them to enter into a more thrilling story of an established hero who is still growing into their own. This is the path that The Batman took; director Matt Reeves decided to skip beyond Thomas and Martha Wayne being shot in favor of showing Batman in an adventure reminiscent of innumerable comic book adventures. As a result, it’s simple to imagine a world in which movies skip past well-known beginnings more frequently. There is no need to waste so much time covering well-trodden ground if the audience already knows them.
Marvel will give the fans a version of the MCU Spider-Man origin story, but with a twist. The previously planned animated series Spider-Man: Freshman Year was revealed recently to take place in an alternate reality where, instead of Tony Stark, Norman Osborn, better known as the Green Goblin, recruits Spider-Man. This will present a version of Spider-origin Man’s tale that does not conflict what was stated in Spider-Man: Homecoming and beyond.
Source: With Great Power: How Spider-Man Conquered Hollywood during the Golden Age of Comic Book Blockbusters