Marisa Tomei, who plays the integral supporting character Aunt May in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will not be part of the massive ensemble assembling for next year's Avengers: Infinity War. The Oscar-winner made her franchise debut last summer in Captain America: Civil War and will return in next month's Spider-Man: Homecoming. Tomei's interpretation of Peter Parker's loving guardian is considerably younger than previous cinematic versions of May, a fact that was played up for comedy as Tony Stark engaged in some flirting when he visited the Parker home in Civil War. From the sound of things, May is not a fan of the genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist, but that won't deter Stark from sending her a message or two to leave an impression.

With both Iron Man and Spider-Man set to come back in Infinity War, some fans might be wondering if Aunt May will be along for the ride too. Seemingly every living hero in the series will play a part on the event, and the cast list continues to grow well into production. Scarlett Johansson previously mentioned one scene in particular involves more than 30 characters, but May is not going to be one of them. While her nephew is out fighting Thanos, she'll be at home wondering what became of Peter.

In an interview with Comic Book, Tomei confirmed she'll be absent from the third Avengers movie, telling the outlet, "I didn't get my invitation yet." Should this pan out and Tomei doesn't film a last-minute cameo, it will be the first time a live-action film that features Spider-Man doesn't include Aunt May as well.

Marisa Tomei as Aunt May and Tom Holland as Peter Parker in Spider-Man Homecoming

As disappointing as this development might be for some, it does make a good deal of sense. With so many larger-than-life figures joining forces for Infinity War (Earth's Mightiest plus the Guardians of the Galaxy) and a heavy focus on the Mad Titan, there arguably wouldn't be much for a regular person like May to do. Her brief part in Civil War worked because that was Spider-Man's introduction into the MCU and it was necessary to establish his life in Queens before jumping off into Homecoming. It's undoubtedly fun to watch Tomei in these films, but it would be a waste if she was shoehorned in for a scene and never made any meaningful contributions to the story. Plus, Spider-Man himself won't have much screen time, so Your Friendly Neighborhood doesn't have the meatiest role to begin with.

However, just because May will be on the sidelines for Infinity War doesn't mean she's not part of Marvel's longterm plans. The studio is already piecing together a Homecoming sequel after this summer's tentpole earned rave reactions out of press screenings and is tracking well at the box office. Peter's aunt will of course be a key part of any solo Spider-Man narrative, and Tom Holland is set to play the web head for a long time. Additionally, Tomei is game for an Aunt May standalone project, so she isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

MORE: Aunt May Isn't A Fan of Tony Stark

Source: Comic Book

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