All language subtitles for Icons.Unearthed.S08E06.The.Marvel.Way.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-BTN_track4_[eng]

Sony's follow up
to the Sam Raimi's
Spider-Man films

proved to be less than amazing.

[Mark] So
The Amazing Spider-Man
movie has come out

and they're not doing as well
as they would have liked.

People just weren't happy
with what they did.

Meanwhile,
their rival Marvel Studios

had become a critical
and financial success.

Thanks to the MCU
and its architect,

Kevin Feige.

The Amazing Spider-Man
suffered from the lack of
Kevin Feige 's involvement.

And there was
only one way

to remedy that problem.

Feige said let me and my team
make this film for you.

[O'Connell] And Amy,
who was in the middle
of eating her lunch,

threw whatever
she was holding at Kevin.

But Pascal
could have thrown
an entire buffet at Feige.

They were fighting
a losing battle.

Sony realized the value
of the MCU at this point.

An unprecedented deal
was struck.

[O'Connell] This stuff doesn't happen.

You don't share your assets.

You don't let your IP
go over to another studio

and potentially make money
for a rival, for a competitor.

Two studios
were about
to risk everything...

There was a huge pressure
felt by all.

[Lebental] Jon Watts
was a very young,

inexperienced director.

But you wanna talk about
an outside-the-box choice.

...As the fight
began to save a franchise.

[Lebental] Jon Watts was like,
I'm not gonna have you

bitching at me this time
about the problems
and the scripts.

And Kevin goes,
Yeah, let's just toss that.

But would it be
a fight worth having?

I was dubious
because of that past history.

[Rhoades] The people
fighting over it,

weren't fighting over it
because they loved Spider-Man.

They were fighting over it
because it was money.

Marvel just expected
Sony to roll over.

The stakes were
so high as Spider-Man' s fate
hung in the balance.

Part of my job is like
solving a Rubik's cube

with a shotgun up your butt.

Like, you gotta...

move quick.

I mean, there's so many points
in the process where it can go

so horribly wrong.

While everyone else
was like,
Another Spider-Man?

I'm like,
Me, me. I wanna work
in Spider-Man.

In January of 2015,

Marvel's Spidey sense
was beginning to tingle.

The negotiations
going on between

Marvel and Sony were happening

while they were writing
Captain America: Civil War,

and in one version
of the screenplay
that they wrote,

when Tony is talking to Natasha

and they're talking
about the fight

that they're about to have
and Natasha says,

Do you know anybody
who can bring to this?

I have an idea.

Me too.

Where's yours?

Downstairs.

Where's yours?

[O'Connell] It smashed cuts
to Queens.

But until
they got Spider-Man,

it was gonna smash cut
to Wakanda.

Because Spidey
was still stuck

in a web of negotiations.

They did not know
they were gonna have
Spider-Man

until they were getting
that close to filming.

But in February 2015,
everything changed

between Marvel and Sony.

[O'Connell] But they worked out a deal

where they would shareSpider-Man with the current
Marvel Cinematic Universe

for at least five films.

Marvel was going
to be the creative lead

and Sony was financing it.

And that's always
a slightly scary proposition.

[O'Connell] Studios do not do this.

They do not share their toys.
They do not let IP

with such value
go over to a competitor.

Especially one
that you had previously thrown
a sandwich at.

But despite the leaked emails
and awkward departure
from Sony,

Amy Pascal still managed
to put herself

squarely between
Sony and Marvel.

She's become the gatekeeper
of the character.

She retained control
as producer
of the Spider-Man.

And now her role
would be even more hands on.

She had to kind of get in there
in the trenches with us.

[O'Connell] But it's Kevin Feige's show,

and all creative decisions
go through him.

It was
the ultimate moment

that Kevin Feige
had been waiting for.

Kevin Feige kicks the door open
in a conference room at Marvel,

and he curls his fingers
into that Spider-Man gesture

and he makes the thwip sound
and everybody cheers

because now
they can move forward
with what they knew

was the best possible plan,
which was to bring Peter Parker

and Spider-Man
into that universe.

And then it was
off to the races.

As Marvel
also kicked off

a Spider-Man solo film
appropriately entitled
Homecoming .

It's homecoming

'cause it's taking place around
the time of homecoming
in high school.

But it's also the Spider-Man
coming home to Marvel.

It has a double meaning there.

What Marvel did
would seem like a gamble
at any other studio.

But defying conventions,

was what made Marvel
and Kevin Feige so successful.

Marvel has the foresight to say,
"We think within our system

"that we can get young,
inexperienced directors
and what they have to bring

"and then bring them up
on all the other things."

The other things being

the rich character histories,

the intricate costumes
and weaponry.

The complex VFX, multitude
of merchandising deals,

the plethora of Easter eggs,

and the rabid fan base
that judges it all.

I mean, it's definitely--
It's a roller coaster ride.

There's no question.

But there were
plenty of questions
about Jon Watts,

the new director,

who was perfectly suited
for the Marvel way.

[Lebental] Jon Watts
was a very young,

inexperienced director.

This was the guy who had done
the horror movie Clown.

Which, yes,
was horrifying.

[Sneider] And then the Sundance
thriller Cop Car.

He made it
on a extremely reduced budget,

but it looked
like a big budget film.

He made the to his dollars.

And not that they were
going to skimp on the budget.

But they just viewed him
as someone who was
very resourceful

and get the most
out of that type of material.

And to help Jon Watts,

this young,
inexperienced director,

get the most out of
that kind of material
would be these two.

I had been
the first Marvel editor.

When Marvel became a studio,
I cut the movie Iron Man.

Part of why they brought Jon in

and he is Jon's longtime editor
was this sensibility of

comedy with stakes
that now people think of
as the Marvel sensibility.

But it was kind of our thing
coming in.

So after that,
I did Iron Man 2,

[Thor] The Dark World

Ant-Man,
Ant-Man and the Wasp.

So logically,

Dan was floated to editSpider-Man: Homecoming.

The great Kevin Feige said
I might be good.

And as for Debbie?

Basically, no one wanted me
to work on Spider-Man.

That's how it is.

It was sort of pre the
Harvey Weinstein revelations,

and so there was
this huge misconception

that women couldn't edit action,

But Debbie
wasn't going to take
No for an answer.

[Berman] I mean, this is what
I've been dreaming of doing

you know, my entire life

since I was a kid
in South Africa.

Like, filming my pet dog,
you know,

and making movies about that.

Debbie had been
contacting me for years

and, you know,
even before she hit LA,

I got a sense of who she was,
what she was

and how hungry she was.

So when they said,
"Who do you want to
do this with?"

I said, "Debbie".

My name was on the list

but Marvel said,
You know, if you want to
work on Spider-Man,

go convince Sony.

And so, I managed to get
the head of Sony post's
email address,

and I just lied to him.

And I just said,
"Look, I'm just gonna happen

to be on the Sony lot
later today, can I pop in?"

Except Debbie
still had two little problems.

I don't know what I'm gonna say,

and I also don't know how
I'm gonna get on the Sony lot

'cause I was lying
when I said I would be there.

So Debbie
concocted a plan
to infiltrate Sony.

[Berman] I drove up to the gate.

And I said to guard,
"You know, I'm here
for a meeting."

And he looked up my name
and he's like,

"No, your name
isn't on the list."

Oh my God.
That is so weird.

And I kind of looked him
in the eye

I'm like, "Yeah but
you know me, right?"

And the guard took a minute.

And he said,
"Yeah, I do know you.
Come on in."

I went to have a meeting
with the head of Sony posts

and before I even sat down,
he's like,

"Look, I'm happy
to chat you about it,

but just so you know
you're not gonna
work in Spider-Man.

We're gonna get, you know,
two really big editors."

While she could have
walked away,

instead, Debbie dug in.

And I spent 40 minutes basically
telling him every reason
under the sun,

about why I should
work on Spider-Man.

I think at some point,
I just wore him down.

I googled everything
I could on Spider-Man

and every piece of data
I found online

I tried to find
a counter-argument to like,

how this piece of data
means I should be
on Spider-Man.

And little by little,
it all started adding up.

It was the third reboot
of Spider-Man
in like, 14 years,

and I think
people weren't really

excited about it.

I think other people
were turning down the job.

And while
everyone else was like,

"Uh, another Spider-Man?"

I'm like, "Me, me.
I want to work in Spider-Man ."

Here's 300 reasons why.

And so Sony
decided to give her a shot.

So that's actually
the short story

of how I got
on Spider-Man.

But Debbie
would be far

from the only new face
on this new Spider-Man

because Spidey himself
would be new and young as well.

[Lebental] And Kevin said,
"Look, the Spider-Man movies,

they weren't real teenagers.

They were adults
being teenagers.

We wanna try to actually
make this into teenagers.

Some of the names
that were circulating

were Asa Butterfield...

Along with
Judah Lewis,

Matthew Lintz, Charlie Plummer

and the little known
Tom Holland.

The studio was really sold
on Charlie Rowe.

But before they could
settle on a Spider-Man,

the studio decided
to give them a little test.

They brought potential
Peter Parkers to Atlanta

to the Civil War set

so that they could screen test
with Robert Downey.

Because it was essential
that Peter Parker could

hold his own
opposite Tony Stark.

Little did
the actors know

that this would be
a Battle Royale.

[O'Connell] And what Downey
ended up doing

is going off script
with each of these kids
that they brought in.

He would read
the first few lines,

and then
he would start improvising

to see how they could hold up.

And soon enough,
one potential Spider-Man

seemed to separate himself
from the pack.

[O'Connell] I think
when the session ended,

Downey said, like, "I know
I don't have any say in it,

but like that's the kid."

But not so fast
Spider-Man,

getting past Iron Man
was only round one.

There was also this element
of Tom Holland and Charlie Rowe

having to perform
a physical audition,

and this included
a fight sequence

with none other than
Chris Evans.

Luckily, physicality
wasn't an issue for Holland,

who spent two years performing
in the live adaptation
of Billy Elliot.

Tom's audition for Spidey,
he did a side flip,

He is so athletic, so skilled.

I think everyone saw

a young actor
who was gonna be great.

And while Tom Holland
was the clear cut winner,

he would still
need to prove himself
on screen.

[O'Connell] But there was
definitely a concern

that nobody quite knew

how Spider-Man was gonna
fit into the MCU.

And would these individualSpider-Man movies work

just by removing them
from Sony's control

and letting Kevin Feige
and his team

make all
the creative decisions.

Whatever reservations
Sony had about working
with Marvel

were put to the test
in May of 2016,

when Marvel finally
introduced Spider-Manto the MCU.

I went to see Civil War
at, like, 09:00 o'clock.

You know, in the morning,
the day came out

and I'm like, okay,

this is the day I find out,
you know, if these
months and months

of fighting was worth it.

Underoos!

[Iron man] Nice job, kid!

[Busch] Fans lost their minds.

People screaming in the theater.

Aah! Spider-Man!

[Berman] He was Spider-Man.

And I was so excited after that.

I'm like, I wonder
if all those people

who turned down Spider-Man
so I could get the job

like saw this scene
and was like,
Oh, we got...

we got a little gem here,
you know.

So cool and frankly shocking
that it actually worked.

It's like, I don't know

if there were any punches
thrown behind the scenes.

Uh, no,
just sandwiches.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man 's
successful appearance in

Captain America: Civil Waronly furthered the pressure

for Marvel to get it right with
[Spider-Man] Homecoming .

But what would Spider-Man
be doing at Homecoming?

So Marvel went out to a lot
of different writing teams

to figure out what they were
going to do with Homecoming .

Asking them
to pitch a Spider-Man story
with one simple directive.

[Pecora] This is not
a superhero movie

that takes place
in a high school.

This is a high school movie
that has a superhero in it.

So while
The Amazing Spider-Manwas an action thriller...

[Lebental] We're gonna do
a John Hughes superhero movie.

What would happen
if Peter Parker

was inThe Breakfast Club essentially?

Do you approve of this?

So Marvel
put out a call for pitches,

and two of the guys
that responded were...

[O'Connell] John Francis Daley
and Jonathan Goldstein,

they were told on a Friday
that Marvel wanted to meet

with them on Monday.

One weekend
to figure out

how to redefine Spider-Man
for the MCU era.

[O'Connell] So they essentially
brainstormed everything
that they could think of

that they loved
from teen comedies.

You know, Ferris Buellerand Weird Science,

things like there has to be
a party at somebody's house.

What a great party!

Thanks.

There has to be these
different groups of kids

who the main hero isn't part of.

Essentially feels
like an outcast.

You guys are losers.

And the other kids
at the high school New York

are gonna feel
like the kind of kids,

the sort of diversity
you would see

at a high school in New York.

And just really grounded
in heart and humor.

You're the Spider-Man...

from YouTube.

I'm not.

So come
Monday morning,

it was that very heart
and humor that landed
them the job.

Surprisingly, their first task
would be to work in a villain

that had eluded Spider-Man'scinematic world for years.

You know, if you're gonna anchor
a movie on an antagonist,

he wouldn't be
at the top of my list.

Mark Webb
and Sam Raimi
had tried for years

to bring The Vulture
to the big screen.

[Eric] Sam Raimi, I remember him
being bummed out

that he didn't
get to use Vulture.

I think they tried
to bring him in

for Spider-Man 3 also
and weren't able to do it.

They even tried
with Sam Raimi's
canceled Spider-Man 4.

[Jeffrey] So there was a script

and essentially The Vulture
was the main villain.

The attempts
to include The Vulture
didn't stop there.

[Berger] When we were wrapping

The Amazing Spider-Man 2
you know, Mark's like,

Okay, I've got some ideas
for the next one.

He kind of alludes to it
in that last scene

you see the wings
of the Vulture up there,
and I'm like,

"Okay, so we're gonna
get it to The Vulture."

And then the studio decided
not to move forward

on another Spider-Man movie
in that universe.

But The Vulture
would be entering
a new universe.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe,
to be exact.

They wove his character into
the story of the Avengers.

Enter your regular
run of the mill contractor,
Adrian Tooms.

Then they fired them all.

Thank you for your service.
We'll take it from here.

So Adrian Tooms vows revenge

on the guy
that cost him the job.

The world's changing.

It's time we change, too.

And by leaning
more into the youth
of Spider-Man,

suddenly, the old Vulture
seemed like the right foe

for the young
and sprightly Spidey.

[McFarlane] So The Vulture
of all the characters

would be the guy
that would sit

and almost disrespect a guy
like Spider-Man.

'Cause it's like,

Kid, you don't even know
how this is gonna
go down, right?

Whatever you're thinking,
I'm two moves ahead.

So that's why I think
The Vulture done right

would actually be formidable
and people would go,

"Hmm. That dude's an assassin."

Game on!

But to play
The Vulture,

they would need
an actor with a history
of taking flight.

I thought it was
a savvy bit of casting.

Because, despite
having uttered these
very words,

I'm Batman.

Everybody wanted to see
what that turn was
going to look like.

That was a big part
of the excitement.

But for some
genuine excitement,

the role of MJ
would be played by someone

who had a fan base built in.

Michelle.

My friends call me MJ.

People call me MJ
and we're like, wait, what?

Zendaya,
she is such a superstar.

You can see it.
You know, you see
little moments of it.

She doesn't have
a massive part in that film,

but she has a massive presence.

[Sneider] She was a smart
bit of casting

because she was a much
bigger star than Tom Holland,

and I think that she got
young girls excited about it.

And playing aunt May,

who gets noticeably younger
with each reboot...

- I have to tell you...
- would be
Marisa Tomei.

I'm not a fan
of that Tony Stark.

I thought it was a great spin
on the character

that everyone
had a crush on her

including Tony Stark.

Hey, May!
How you doing?

What are you wearing?
Something skimpy, I hope.

Marisa Tomei is one of
those actors, like Paul Rudd,
who never seems to age.

But just as this
top secret cast
was coming together,

the effects team noticed
a problem brewing.

You know, Michael Keaton's
gonna be Vulture.

You're working on it,
and you're working
behind the scenes on it.

But then,
a classic Hollywood conundrum.

[Pecora] There's a
scheduling conflict.

Well, that's interesting.
And then that same day,

your phone rings
and you find out

Hey, what would it take
to shoot all of
Michael Keaton's parts

on a green screen in Atlanta?

And with
the Marvel method,

this problem
will be fixed in post.

If you go back
to the movie Iron Man,

it is what I created
the Marvel way of doing things

because as it went,
the script was constantly
being worked on.

But there was a major,
major flaw

and some problems
so it ended up having

a two-week
additional photography
to correct a few things.

Launching
a filming strategy

that Marvel still uses
to this very day.

Let's at least get 75 to 80%
of the movie in the cam,

let's figure out
what we're missing
and then we'll go back

and we'll enhance
the pieces of the story,

the action that we need to.

And while
the back and forth

had become a winning formula
for the MCU,

it was easy to see
how another studio

could see the process
as wasteful and redundant.

It comes down to a question
of time and money.

And they would
soon find out if Jon Watts
had enough of both.

With Spider-Manonce again rebooting,

one of the biggest
concerns was,
were they rebooting enough?

You know, you never wanna repeat
what all the other ones did.

Every Spider-Man
film has a love story.

To date, audiences had seen
one, Mary Jane.

The girl next door.

Two, Gwen Stacy's.

Hi, Pete.

There was
even a little
Betty Brant flirtation.

- Hey, Betty.
- Hey, Pete.
You better get in there.

New guy.

It was time
to mix things up.

Luckily, Spider-Man got around.

Spider-Man had
a couple of girlfriends
before Gwen Stacy.

And so Marvel
dipped into Peter Parker's

romantic back catalog
to find a new love interest.

There's a different
love interest in Liz.

Liz Allan
to be precise.

Writer, wait.

Wait, Liz is who?

Liz Allan might be
a deep cut,

but she dates back
to Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's
initial Spider-Man run.

Where she dated Flash Thompson,

eventually marrying
Harry Osborn.

But Homecomingwould feature
a new take on Liz.

Hi, Liz.

Or at least
her family tree.

She's also
The Vulture's daughter.

It was a reinvention
of the character.

And while Sony
had made five
Spider-Man films,

they had never made
a Spider-Man film,
the Marvel way.

[Lebental] They would admit
that the scripts are never
quite ready.

But the flag is in the sand.
They're coming out,

this day
at this year at this time.

And so,
with a not quite
so ready script,

the cameras began to roll
on Spider-Man: Homecoming

in June 2016.

But it wasn't just the filming.

There was a lot of CG
in that movie.

... Which had to be
kicked off as well.

[Lebental] In the Marvel world,
because these movies

are so effects-laden,
they would give us mandates

like, if you're 50% sure
that this is gonna go in,

we're gonna start the effects.

... Which raised
some concerns at Sony.

[Lebental] In Sony's mind,
and they're partly right.

Marvel is wasteful.

In Marvel's mind,

you can't get good product
unless you get started.

And this difference
in philosophy

really became apparent

in the film's epic fight
aboard the Staten Island Ferry.

They had built a replica
of the back third of it

in life size
that could split in half.

[Mahaffie] Physicality of that
was massive.

It could split apart
and water shoot up through it.

It dumped 44,000
gallons of water

through the whole set
in the ten seconds

that it took
to open that thing up.

It was crazy.

It was
an impressive display

until... it wasn't.

He's just on the ship
the whole time

he's standing on this deck

on the back third of the ferry
and The Vulture's flying.

Why leave him on the boat?

So one of the last minute
changes we got was,

let's get him off the ship.

And more pickups
for The Vulture meant more work

for Michael Keaton's
stunt double.

Michael really didn't ever want
to have his face covered.

So if the mask was on,
it was me.

You know, I was isolated
in this green world

and was just set
on an apple box,

you know, for hours,

It was kind of psychedelic.

I was like, am I
in an ayahuasca ceremony

dreaming that
I'm a Marvel villain in Atlanta,

like, what's reality, you know.

Creatively,
the change was exactly
what the scene needed.

But even the Marvel way
has its limitations.

So changing
the the very choreography,

that's a lot of things
if you decide.

Well, what if we speed up
the camera

and get here quicker
and move this?

Every single one of those things
needs to be redone from scratch.

And then you just have less
and less time to perfect it.

And suddenly,
neither studio was happy
with what they were seeing.

You're sending something over,
they're looking at it,
calling you back,

"Hey, there's a little problem
here and there."

Little problems?
Such as...

Where are all the people
in the boats?

So much of that was added after.

Well,
as the deadline loomed,

they were all in the same boat
and it was sinking.

You've got tired people,
making mistakes

and trying to give the best
that they can.

They're very
punishing films to make.

There are times
when you're on fire, dying.

You're just like,
I just want to sleep.

But I know
this will be over soon,

and when it is,
I want to have something

that I can be very proud of
to put out.

Nobody on the
[Spider-Man] Homecoming crew
was sleeping on the job.

Not least the editing team,

who were on the edge
of their seats.

[Lebental] That movie
has my all-time favorite
that I've done twist.

Michael Keaton answers the door.

The audience is with Peter
looking at the bad guy,

who doesn't know that
that's Spider-Man.

You must be Peter.

And then Michael Keaton
is holding this knife,

talking to him about the date
with his daughter

and joking with him...

You look pale.

[Lebental] ...as any dad would,
except

except that's the bad guy.

Well, hey, I'm your chauffeur,

so let's get this show
on the road.

The next scene
when they're in the car,

he's asking Peter questions...

When you graduate,
what do you think
you're gonna do?

Oh um... I don't--
I don't know.

[Berman] In the script,
Adrian Tooms actually realizes

that Peter Parker
is Spider-Man

quite near
the beginning of the scene.

Not a lot of time passes,
and he's on to him instantly.

Good ol' Spider-Man.

But good ol' Dan
had other ideas.

Dan felt the key was really
to just build tension

and build tension
and build tension.

Tension...

I've seen you around, right?

[Berman] Dan decided
to choose the moment

like, I want him
to realize it here

and stayed out of the close-up
of his eyes,

you know, going back and forth.

And then there was
a rearview mirror shot

that he was saving for,
like, "the moment",

you know,
where there is no doubt.

And to set up that twist
was very delicate.

In fact, scenes were taken out
to make sure that twist

was like a truck
sideswiping a car.

We wanted the audience
to not see that coming.

Now, speaking of
ominous brewing tension,

when Kevin Feige
was in the room,

Debbie was feeling
plenty of tension.

So when we're in these sessions,

and it's all these
really important people

from Sony and Marvel

and all of them
have incredible careers
for decades,

and there's me, you know,
with no real credits,
new to the world.

But Debbie had been
working with the footage

and had an idea
for The Vulture story arc.

[Berman] Originally,
his turn was so strong,

so quickly, like,
you meet him,

he has his henchmen
or his colleagues

that he's worked with
for many years.

And then one of them,
you know, messes up a little,

and he incinerates him.

-
-

It felt like,
wow, he became

pretty evil, pretty quickly.

And I started
giving forth my idea.

And then someone really high up
just started talking over me.

And I'm like,
Oh, well, yeah...

I mean, figures.

And then Kevin went like this
to that person

and then pointed at me.

And that's all he did.

And the whole room turned
and looked at me, and I'm like,

"Wow, I better say
something good."

Rookie editor
Debbie Berman had an idea,

and Marvel head Kevin Feige
wanted to hear it.

The whole room turned
and looked at me, and I'm like,

"Wow, I better say
something good."

Her fear was
The Vulture's turn to violence
was too quick.

But Debbie had a fix.

I thought, "Well,
one way to resolve that

is, what if,
when he picks up the gun,

that incinerates his friend,

what if he thought it was
the Anti-Gravity gun?"

The one from
earlier in the movie.

[Berman] So he wasn't
trying to kill him.

He was just trying
to give him a little scare.

And as for Kevin Feige

and the story committee...

Everyone liked that pitch.

And so
a pickup was ordered.

I thought this was
the Anti-Gravity gun.

What?
No, that's that one.

And just that small
little moment

changed the character.

And Feige's small act
forever changed Debbie.

He let everyone know
without saying a word
that I had a voice.

A voice
Debbie would continue to use.

The romance between
Pete and Liz

wasn't really playing that well.

When you watch the film,
you're like,

"Oh, we're missing something."

Liz, I'm so sorry.

You say that a lot.

What are you sorry for
this time?

And I just kind of suggested

reshooting her side
of the party scene.

And they ended up re
shooting a lot of Liz's side

just to see that she was
kind of into Peter as well.

You know, adding lines like,
"Peter, you're the smartest guy
I've ever met."

Like, a little line like that
goes so far,

After we reshot it
and kind of felt there,

her interest back at him,

it just changed
the whole dynamic.

Debbie had
proved herself

as a valuable collaborator.

Now all she had to do
was prove herself as an editor.

The Washington Monument scenes.

That was kind of my first
massive action scene
for Spider-Man .

And when I strangled it out,

like, did a basic
assemble edit of it,

it was almost half an hour long.

It was just hours of people
on the elevator,

you know,
doing brilliant improv.

Hey, Mr. Harrison,
Can I be the one to tell
Peter he's expelled?

But Debbie could tell
something was missing.

[Berman] Dan, he really
mentored me through that one.

That was my first big
action scene.

He just said,
"Keep upping the tension."

And I thought,
"Okay, the best way to keep
upping the tension

is to intercut it."

But that would mean
rewinding a bit
and adding a reshoot.

And we realized,
"Oh, if we shoot the decathlon,

not only do we see something

that people talk about
the whole film,

but we can intercut that
with Spider-Man racing
to save them.

A vehicle
approaching on your right.

We have now entered
sudden death.

The next correct answer
wins the championship.

Not only
did the pickups add tension,

but it also proved
that Debbie could cut action.

- That is correct.
-

[Berman] That scene,
that was kind of my like,

"Oh, she can cut
an action scene."

And then you watch it
in a test screen

and people cheer.

As a filmmaker, your heart,
it just bursts. It just bursts.

Everyone was proud
of their work

on Spider-Man: Homecoming .

My little moment to shine.

There was that gym scene.
I boarded that whole thing
and MJ flips them off.

And I'm like, this is never
gonna make it in the film.

It's Disney.

Then I go to see the movie

and he walks into the prom
and she looks at him

and she just goes,
you know, like that.

So that was really funny.

But for audiences,
it was more of a thumbs-up

when Spider-Man: Homecomingpremiered on July 7th 2017
to rave reviews.

Oh my gosh, the premiere...

That was an incredible night.

I was just trying not
to like sob hysterically

for the first ten minutes
of the phone.

When that door opened,

it was the biggest gasps
from an audience

that any of my movies
have ever had,

and I'm practically giggled.

I don't think
many people get to, like,

pinpoint a specific second
where their life dream

comes like completely true.

Not only had
Debbie's tenacity paid off,

it was all paying off
for Sony as well

at the box office.

Homecoming ended up
making $880,000,000,

which is a great return
on their investments.

Director Jon Watts
had restored Sony's franchise

back to its former glory.
But there was no time to rest.

As on the other side
of the equation,

Marvel got to borrow Spider-Man
for two of Avengers films.

- Hey, man.
What's up, Mr. Stark?
- Kid, where'd you come from?

[Jeffrey] So I loved him
being there

because he wasn't an Avenger.

And it was more like
Stark brought him in

because he lived in New York.

He's like, "There's a wizard!
Go get the wizard!"

An ending
on one of the film's
most heartbreaking deaths.

I don't feel so good.

It was pitch perfect.

But worry not Sony,

it was followed by his
triumphant return

in Avengers: Endgame .

[O'Connell] You'll also learn
just how important

that relationship
between Stark and Peter was.

... Which was,
honestly, a lot to process

before being
sent back to school.

It's totally unfair.

[Lebental] When we did,
Far from Home,

We have the homage
to all the people

who've died in Endgame .

And they're doing it
on their high school news.

... Which was hard
to put together since...

We weren't even
allowed to see it

until very late in the game.

So we didn't quite know
If we were contradicting

and it turned out

we had some contradictions
that we had to correct,

Keep everything really like,
it's like secret stuff.

They don't want anybody
to know what's going on,

which I really like, you know,

'cause you wanna
surprise people.

And when it came
to Far from Home's villain,

Jon and Dan had to dig
deep into the rogue's gallery

to find someone
who had yet to be adapted.

And what they
came back with was...

Mysterio.

Mysterio?

Cool name.

With all the smoke stuff.

And the actor tasked
with adapting

the mysterious Mysterio,

was an actor who had almost
become Spider-Man himself.

[Landau] We did have a flirtation
with Jake Gyllenhaal,

and he was ready
to step in for Tobey.

You should join us.

Thank you.

Far from Home,also carried on

an off-camera tradition

that dated back to
the first Spider-Man film.

Tobey was dating
Kirsten for a stretch.

As were the two leads
in The Amazing Spider-Man.

There was a lot of love
on that set. I got to say.

But eventually
it was time

for a new Peter and MJ.

And along with it,
a new romance.

I really like you.

I really like you, too.

[Elson] I think it's great.

I kind of saw
the whole thing happen.

She's awesome, he's awesome,
like, it just makes sense.
Why not?

But just as the cast
and crew were becoming
a family,

one member
wouldn't be returning.

Oh, not because she didn't
cut it on the last gig.

In fact, quite the opposite.

So Debbie is now busy
doing Captain Marvel

and Black Panther.

And if Debbie
proved anything, it was that...

Women can cut action.

So Leigh Folsom Boyd
was brought in

to finish the job
that Debbie started.

She's a power hitter.

I was like,
"Yeah, yeah, let's do it."

But Kevin Feige
wasn't quite done tinkering.

He's known for having,
like an idea at the end

that shakes it up.

Mysterio may have
been Spider-Man's enemy.

You want these?

Just give me
the glasses.

Come and get 'em.

But he was no friend
to post-production.

As the effects heavy, heavy

put a strain
on the film's delivery.

But that wouldn't stop
Kevin Feige from tinkering.

[Boyd] He came into the edit.

We were playing the third act

where Peter is battling
all the drones.

He's basically put them
on a balloon streams, right,

and he's gonna
slam them all down

and he's jumping around
and stuff.

And Kevin goes,
Uh... Yeah, let's just
toss that.

And so I was like, Wow.

And he goes, "Yeah, I don't know
that that's helping us."

And it was like
an evolved sequence,

so it was a really like,
we were far into the process

with all of that.

But he was spot on!

Kevin Feige's
steady hand continued to lead
Marvel to success.

And Spider-Man:
Far from Home,

was released in July of 2019

pulling in over a billion
dollars worldwide.

So Marvel, at this point

looks at the deal
that they've struck,

and they realize
we're doing all the work here.

And essentially turning over
a finished product to Sony

and Sony is releasing it

and then collecting
95% of the profit.

See, now that's some bullshit.

And after
the conclusion

of the five-picture deal,

Marvel thought
it was time to invite Sony

back to the negotiating table
for more, much more.

They said,
"We want to renegotiate

and we want you to give us
50% of the profits

instead of five percent."

Sony may have had
the rights to Spider-Man,
but Marvel had the MCU

which Sony's Spider-Manwas now a part of.

But even still...

Sony Pictures said,
"No, that's okay.

We'll take him back."

In fact,
Sony was forging its own path

with other facets
of the Spider-Man universe.

I am Venom.

[Todd] Which did much better
than people anticipated.

None of us knew was gonna be
the big hit, he was gonna be.

So Sony's
spider verse was expanding.

Maybe they didn't need
Marvel after all.

But just as the divorce
seemed imminent,

a hero emerged
and it was Spider-Man himself.

[O'Connell] Tom Holland
really liked being part of

the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

He reaches out to Bob Iger,

he says, "Look, Spider-Man
belongs in the MCU,

this is what's right
for the character,

and this is what's right
for the fans."

And against all odds
Bob Iger agrees with him

and decides to go back
to the negotiating table
to strike a deal with Sony.

Ha, this is nice.

The deal kept
Spider-Man in the MCU

while also taking care
of Marvel.

Disney and Marvel
agreed to pay

25% of the production costs
to Sony,

but they would get 25%
of the profits back

as opposed to the five percent
they were getting

as part of the original deal.

So now we're in business.

As the ink dried,
Jon Watts began
the intimidating task

of completing his trilogy.

One day he's like,
"Name me a third sequel
that worked.

"You can't do it, can you?

"And I'm supposed to do
this third one.

"How am I gonna do
this third one?"

To make matters
even more complicated,

Watts needed to incorporate
the MCU's next phase.

I was like trying to figure out
how they were gonna

deal with the multiverse.

Meanwhile,
in this timeline,

a curveball was on its way.

Yeah then COVID hit
and it didn't matter

'cause we all just went home.

The shutdown
was a double-edged sword.

[Boyd] I think it probably gave
the writers and Jon

more time to hammer out
the storyline.

I mean, it was a big film.

It had a lot of characters
to bring back.

Including villains
from previous
Spider-Man movies,

and not to mention
previous Spider-Man's, too.

They brought back
all the Spider-Man.

-
- Hello.

That was a very ambitious play.

Great.
It's just some random guy.

And that ambition
put strains on production

once they could
get back to work.

[O'Connell] There's never
like a big mash up

that could have been all three
Spider-Man fighting

all six villains.

Yet while COVID
was still pulling

people away from one another,
the filmmakers managed

to defy every expectation,
bringing their heroes together.

- Peter.
- Yeah.

To have yeah,
that third Spider-Man

be the one where just
all three are united.

They have an incredible,
loving, family energy.

It was just... Ah, I loved it.
It was so cool to see, yeah.

[Boyd] It was
kind of like a reset

for Andrew Garfield's
Spider-Man character.

Because he couldn't save
his girl

but he can save this one.

I mean, it's a huge moment.

Are you okay?

Yeah.
I'm okay.

It was validation
for Andrew Garfield as the actor

and then as his
Peter Parker character. Huge.

With multiple
Spider-Man's...

- Like, Peter one, Peter two.
- Peter two.

Peter three.

... and multiple villains.

I should have killed
your little girlfriend

when I had the chance.

Things began
to get confusing.

Especially when
one of the characters,

Norman Osborn/ The Green Goblin

played by Willem Dafoe
was back.

Having last been seen

in the Sam Raimi
Spider-Man movies.

I'm not myself.

Audiences were
a little confused.

We have to sell the audience

that he's confused
because he's here.

He's in a new timeline,
and he recognizes that,

not because he's still battling
the inner demon.

And so, much like
Debbie had done back
on Homecoming,

it was up to the editing team
to help clarify the story
with a pickup.

[Green Goblin] You make me sick.

Leave me alone, please.

Hiding in the shadows.

But one of the most
impactful aspects
of No Way Home

was stripping Spider-Man
of everything and everyone
he cared about.

He's lost his friend.

He's lost his girlfriend.

He's lost everything.

It totally is the opposite
of what he was

in Far from Home.

The kid trying not to take
any responsibility.

But after he makes
the ultimate sacrifice

at the end of No way Home...

Cast a new spell.

But this time,
make everyone forget
who Peter Parker is.

Make everyone forget.

Jon Watts
wanted Peter's last visit
with MJ to really hit home.

[Boyd] Do we let him
start a conversation?

Like, maybe there's
a shred of recognition
still there.

Or do you just have him
walk away?

That was
one of those conversations

that we had with everyone.

You know, Amy
and Rachel and Kevin.

Obviously, Jon,
weighing the balance of that.

I'll see you around.

And it was
up to Clint Wallace

to design
Peter's final sendoff.

I had to come up with the look
of Peter's apartment

when he is now back on his own.

We had to rebuild that
and reshoot that.

Clint managed to work
in one last connection
to where it all started.

We definitely took
some inspiration
from Sam Raimi's

original apartment for Peter,
but with a different vibe.

It was
a beautiful detail

that closed out the film.

But the question remained,

would anyone see it,

as audiences continued
to shelter in place,

amidst the ongoing pandemic?

[Spider-Man] No Way Homewas preparing
for a holiday release

amid an active pandemic.

There were still mask mandates
in a lot of different cities,

and Sony wasn't quite sure
whether people were
going to show up.

On December 17th
of 2021,

the studio got their answer.

We were fortunate because...

It was well received.

That's one way
of putting it.

No Way Home pulled in
just under two billion
dollars worldwide,

making it
the highest grossing
Spider-Man film

of all time.

So they pulled it off, right?

A tip of the hat.

Thank you.

Spider-Man,
it turns out,

has a knack for turning up
when you need him most.

And it ended up
becoming the movie

that brought a lot of people
back to theaters.

And people came out
for Spider-Man

just like they did after 9/11.

The idea of Spider-Man,
it was just the right time

and the right place
that everybody showed up
to see the film.

And the reason
is simple.

[Rhoades] So Spider-Man,
he was kind of like me.

I was a kid,
I went to school.

I had, you know, angst.

How do you transition
from being

a irresponsible teenager
to being a responsible adult.

We all feel awkward at times.

If you've ever been
picked on by a bully.

Like, there's moments

when you wish
you could be Spider-Man.

Spider-Man
could be you.

He could be me.

In fact, he has been me.

There I am!

Spider-Man could be anybody.

Spider-Man.

He is our symbol of superheroes

and, more importantly, Marvel.

This enduring character,

created by the great Stan Lee
with art by Steve Ditko,

is a candle of hope
amidst a sometimes dark world.

[Jeffrey] I think
it's really amazing

that a guy figuring out

what he's gonna do
after World War II,

dealing with the tail-end
of a failed business.

Talk about a second act.

To have that work resonate
the way that it does

all these decades later,
where it's more ubiquitous

and more defining
and more popular
than it ever was.

This story
of Spider-Man may have
started with Stan Lee.

But this journey
from page to screen

has been
one of creative innovation,

ground-breaking technology,
tenacity and passion.

I've had the opportunity
to double all three Spider-Man

and I wanted it
more than anything,

and I trained my butt off
to make sure I got that spot

From swinging
through the streets,

to the studios
who took big swings
to get these movies made.

Working together
on all of theSpider-Man films,

but they did it well.

From Amy Pascal...

[O'Connell] Amy has been
Spider-Man's best friend

from a Hollywood-producing
standpoint since day one.

... to the late
Laura Ziskin.

Laura was
the creative protector.

From Sam Raimi's
three films of the 2000's...

Sam was the perfect guy
to do Spider-Man
'cause he really gets it.

I think we all agreed
Sam was Peter Parker.

... To the yarns
Marc Webb spun in the
two amazing Spider-Man films...

[Thomas] Mark was a great choice.

He brings a sense of humanity

to his Spider-Man series
that I really thought was great.

And for
director Jon Watts,
it appears that he, too,

has been bitten
by the spider bug.

I've read that he has his own
spider collection now.

Like he got so into it,

he developed
a spider collection at home.

It's hard to believe
that this web-slinging teenager
from Queens,

was ever anything
but box office gold.

The audience continues
after more than 20 years

and enjoy it so much,
it says an awful lot.

I got a card
from Kevin Feige saying,

"Congratulations!
We just reached
a billion dollars."

Because
the simple idea

of a relatable high school kid
battling teenage awkwardness

and evil super villains,
is a story we're willing
to hear again and again

in any number of timelines
or multi verses.

[Tom] It's a lot of fun
to see all these,

like permutations and iterations
of the Spider-Man character.

There's literally hundreds
of versions of Spider-Man

and Spider-Woman
and Spider-animals.

And so,
as the spider verse
infinitely expands,

for us Spidey fans,
picking a favorite is easy.

[Berman] They're all great.

You know,
the spider verse is great.

Like there is room
for many Spider-Mans

and they can
all be incredible Spider-Mans

and I think there's room
to love them all.

Well, be it great,
incredible, spectacular...

Awesome.

Just astonishing.

- Ultimate.
- These are excellent.

The story
of your friendly
neighborhood Spider-Man

and where it goes
from here, truly is...

It's amazing!