After 'Spider-Man: Far From Home,' What Does Marvel Do Next?
If your spidey sense is tingling, you’ve come to the right place.
If your spidey sense is tingling, you’ve come to the right place. For this week’s Tuesday Multiverse, we’re diving exclusively into all things Spider-Man: Far From Home, along with some theories about the future of the MCU.
Be warned: spoilers ahead!
But first: To celebrate the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home, we’ve partnered with our friends at Den of Geek to reward one lucky reader with a complete MCU Phase 1-3 Collector’s Edition Box Set.
All you have to do is enter your email here and we will announce the winner in our Friday Inverse Daily email. Good luck!
This is a reproduction of Multiverse, a twice-weekly newsletter full of all the latest stories about superheroes, sci-fi, and more, plus weekly recommendations for all the best new movies, shows, and video games. Click here to get Multiverse delivered to your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday.
We Have to Talk About the Ending First
The ending of Spider-Man, in which Peter Parker’s identity as Spider-Man is outed by The Daily Bugle, will undoubtedly rock the MCU going forward.
First, we need to talk about the surprise cameo: J.K. Simmons reprising his role as J. Jonah Jameson. Not only does this satisfy nostalgia for those who miss the Sam Raimi era, but there’s some pretty exciting implications about the Multiverse. Is that the same J. Jonah Jameson from the original Spider-Man movies or just a charming cameo? Read more.
Second, will the MCU adapt one of Spider-Man’s most controversial storylines? With Spidey unmasked, Spider-Man 3 could seek to undo the damage, at a major cost, in a loose adaptation of a controversial comic book storyline. 2007’s Spider-Man: One More Day saw Peter Parker make a deal with the devil (Mephisto) to re-obscure his identity, but in return, he had to give up his marriage with MJ. Fans hated it, but Tom Holland’s Spider-Man may be headed down the same dark path. Read more.
Third, Mysterio is a timely villain who doesn’t make explicit reference to Trump but still taps into our susceptible belief in “fake news.” Admit it, that cleverly edited video in the post-credits scene blaming Spider-Man for the attack on London is exactly the kind of thing your weird uncle would share on Facebook without checking to make sure it was true. Read more.
Talos (right) and another Skrull in 'Captain Marvel'.
A Not-So-Secret Invasion
Phase 4 of the MCU may also have been teased in the post-credits of Spider-Man: Far From Home. The reveal that Nick Fury and Maria Hill were actually two Skrull leaders from Captain Marvel on assignment from the real Nick Fury, who is chillaxing up in space, suggests that the MCU could look to adapt elements from the 2008 storyline Secret Invasion. But how big of a deal is this? What is Fury up to? And how does Captain Marvel fit in?
Here’s everything you need to know about Secret Invasion, along with how the Far From Home post-credits could tease Captain Marvel 2 or an even bigger showdown in Avengers 5.
Stan Lee
Stan Lee’s Lost Project
A throwaway line in Spider-Man: Far From Home, in which J.B. Smoove makes reference to the Power Rangers, is a really, really deep cut Easter egg into a forgotten corner of Marvel history. Did you know that Stan Lee nearly created the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers? Read the secret history you probably never knew about.
Next Stop: San Diego
All this speculation will come to an end when Marvel Studios’ president Kevin Feige takes the stage at Hall H on Saturday, July 20 during San Diego Comic-Con. Marvel’s return to the geek extravaganza is all but confirmed to reveal the progress on films like Black Widow, Eternals, and Shang-Chi, as well as hint at what the next era of Marvel will look like. Read more.
Jacob Batalon is a member of the Inverse Future 50.
How Jacob Batalon Became the Most Confident Guy in the Marvel Universe
Forget Peter Parker. The coolest kid in Spider-Man: Far From Home is by far Peter Parker’s best friend, Ned Leeds.
Our own Jake Kleinman had a chance to chat with MCU actor Jacob Batalon for Inverse’s Future 50 series — which features 50 people we think will shape the coming decade — about his evolving role in the Sony-Marvel movies, his future career plans, and the stress of doing press tours with the spoiler-machine that is Tom Holland. The musician-turned-actor also explained why he thinks artificial intelligence will never replace human song writers. Read more.
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What’s Next
Elsewhere in the Multiverse: Dr. Mario World, the next official Nintendo game for mobile devices, will be released for iOS and Android on Wednesday.
Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots star in the dark comedy The Art of Self-Defense, which hits theaters on Friday.
