Teachers are supposed to have all the answers. So when two of Midtown School of Science and Technology's faithful faculty members, Mr. Harrington (Martin Starr) and Mr. Dell (J.B. Smoove), signed up to chaperone a press day in support of Spider-Man: Far From Home, they were tasked with fielding my most pressing questions over Spidey's future following the Disney-Sony split.
"We don't know what you're talking about," Starr deadpans.
What I'm talking about, as Marvel fans are well aware, is the undoing of the deal that allowed Disney (the studio that owns Marvel Studios) and Sony Pictures (the studio that owns the screen rights to Spider-Man) to share the character, effectively cutting ties between Tom Holland's Peter Parker and the greater MCU. Starr, who's been part of this Spider-Man franchise since Homecoming, says he ultimately doesn't see it as a "good or bad thing."
"I've always loved Spider-Man, so more than anything I'm excited to see what avenue they do go down," he tells ET. "Whatever happens, it's been a fun run. It's very cool to see that character inside of a much bigger universe, but you know, Spider-Man existed 20 years ago -- and that was a fun run to see Spider-Man, as well."
"We just want to see the creativity remain at a high standard and make sure the fans enjoy it," Smoove weighs in. "Because it's really about the fans enjoying the movie. All the business stuff, it's so-- We just want to be creative and actors and have a good time." He pauses before adding: "And sell a billion more tickets!"
Little is known about a Spider-Man threequel as of yet, but Starr wants to reassure fans that MCU or not, "I'm sure it will be in good hands," he says. "And hopefully we get to see another awesome version of this saga. More than anything I'm excited to see J. Jonah Jameson back, this new iteration of [the character] is fun and to bring someone back from that original run of Spider-Man that I grew up watching is very cool."
Far From Home arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on Oct. 1 with a number of bonus features, but also the opportunity to endlessly rewatch those seismic post-credits scenes, the latter of which re-introduces J.K. Simmons as the blowhard newsman and iconic Spider-Man foil. In this iteration, J. Jonah Jameson enters the fold by outing Peter Parker as Spider-Man to the world.
"Oh, Mr. Dell is pissed, let me tell you something," Smoove exclaims when asked how their characters would have reacted to the news. "Mr. Dell has had this kid's back a long time. He liiiiiied. Bald-faced lied to me. And Mr. Dell is very intuitive, he's very connected to these students, and he dives in deep, you know? I make sure these kids are going in the right direction, and I want to make sure I do my damn job. I'm almost a step parent."
As for Mr. Harrington, Starr laughs, "I feel like he would pretend he knew all along and just deny it, like, 'Oh yeah, of course. Of course he is. Yeah, I knew it. No, I knew it a long time ago he was Spider-Man.'"
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