Infinity War Writers On Marvel's Marketing For Spider-Man: Homecoming 2

Writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely comment on the marketing dilemma that Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 faces following the events of Avengers: Infinity War. Tom Holland's second standalone film as the web-slinging hero has started to fill its casting sheet with news of Jake Gyllenhaal boarding the movie as iconic Spidey villain, Mysterio. Set after the events of Avengers 4, the project is scheduled to start principal photography by the end of this month and will follow Peter Parker going international with shoots set around the world. However, there is just one problem. Spider-Man is currently dead in the MCU canon.

Infinity War choosing to dust off most of MCU's second-generation heroes after Thanos' snap has arguably lessened the impact of their supposed for some deaths given that most of them are confirmed for sequels. The minute Black Panther suddenly crumbled in front of Okoye, it was clear that this predicament would be temporary considering how successful his first standalone film was. Now, the film's writers are offering their two cents on the matter, specifically regarding how the Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel could be promoted.

In an interview with Collider, Markus and McFeely were asked about their thoughts on the marketing problem that Infinity War created for Marvel and Sony's Homecoming 2. While the two didn't give out the specifics about how Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal are planning to market the untitled sequel, they spoke about managing fans' expectations with franchise films like this knowing that there will always be a sequel rolling out after.

Markus: Look, two hours of Aunt May crying, it could be great

McFeely: It's a good question and it's certainly's the bigger question about audience expectation and you know too much about how Hollywood works or release schedules things like that, does it hurt your enjoyment of the movie?

Markus: Clearly, if there are people crying and there are articles about how to console your children at the end of it, it doesn't matter what you know

McFeely: We can't make movies for people who read Variety, you know what I mean?

There are two ways that this can go down: first, they acknowledge Peter Parker's resurrection (something that is already a given), but instead of focusing on his return, emphasize on the mystery of how he was able to return and how the experience changed him. This way, it preserves the plot of Avengers 4 while also building anticipation for the sequel. Second, they can start promoting Homecoming 2 only after Avengers 4 comes out. While that only leaves them two months' time to market the film, it won't be that much of a problem given how popular the character is.

It's safe to say Marvel Studios had a pretty good idea about all the kinds of reactions people may have to the creative choices they did with Avengers: Infinity War. Feige has been good about mapping their slate years ahead (he already had meetings regarding MCU films for 2025), and chances are, he and his team already know what they're doing for Spider-Man: Homecoming 2's marketing. Fans will just have to wait and see how it all unfolds next year.