Did we just get a sneak peek at possible Marvel Phase Four plans to come?
After the epic and heart-breaking events that occurred during Avengers: Endgame earlier this Spring, Marvel fans and moviegoers alike were due for something a little more light-hearted. And with Kevin Feige, head of Marvel Studios, being rather secretive about his plans for the highly anticipated Marvel Phase Four string of movies, many are wondering what’s in store for this ever-evolving franchise. Well, audiences may have gotten a slight hint of future Marvel storylines with the release of Spider-Man: Far from Home.
Starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Jacob Batalon, alongside other notable stars like Samuel L. Jackson, Jake Gyllenhaal, and J.B. Smoove, Spider-Man: Far from Home is a sequel to 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, as well as a direct follow-up to the events of Avengers: Endgame and the last movie in Marvel Studios’ Phase Three.
Warning: There are some Slight Spoilers Ahead, so if you haven’t seen the film yet, you may want to save this for later.
It’s been five years and eight months since high school superhero Peter Parker (Tom Holland) returned after being snapped away during Thanos’ attack on Earth back in Avengers: Infinity War. As it turns out he wasn’t the only one affected by this event, as several of his friends and classmates had also disappeared at the time, including his best friend, Ned (Jacob Batalon), and friend turned love interest, MJ (Zendaya). Facing the stress of returning to normality after such a catastrophic event and it’s resulting after-effects, such as the death of his beloved mentor Tony Stark and feelings of having to step up as one of the world’s next greatest heroes, Peter believes he is due for a break.
Luckily his school has orchestrated a two-week summer field trip to Europe, where Peter plans to put his heroics aside for once and confess his growing feelings towards MJ. However, fate has other plans as Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) tracks Peter down to aid in dealing with an alarming threat in the form of the Elementals: cosmic superbeings with control over one of the four natural elements. Helping Peter on this assignment is Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal), a hero who claims to have come from a different reality in the multiverse in order to hunt and eliminate the Elementals to avenge his parents. With Beck, going by the name Mysterio, doing most of the work, Peter thinks he may be able to salvage his vacation after all.
But things aren’t always what they seem.
In a slight reversal from the last film, Peter seems keener on distancing himself from being a hero this time around rather than eagerly embracing it. Tied in with the themes of loss and self-doubt brought on by the death of someone who was not only a mentor but essentially a father figure to him, Spider-Man: Far from Home feels more like Peter’s true origin story as he undergoes an awakening of sorts heading towards the film’s climactic ending. This is due, in part, to Mysterio who, in no shock to comic book readers or fans of the Spider-Man lore in general, turns out to be one of Peter’s greatest adversaries yet, using a series of complex illusions to torment and challenge the heroic web-slinger.
Featuring an amazing performance from Holland and Gyllenhaal, whose on-screen chemistry adds depth to the characters, Far from Home also hints at possible future Marvel-verse events to come. Without revealing too much about the end credits scene, it is important to note that the Skrulls presence on Earth is a lot more prevalent than may have been shown before. And with the multiverse being an actual thing in the franchise, it’s safe to say that we could be seeing a whole slew of familiar Marvel characters in the upcoming years.
Rating: 4/5 Stars
