This week, we weave a familiar web, as the slinger himself has finally made his way back to the Marvel Cinematic universe — and in the process, star Tom Holland and company have made what many critics are calling the best Spider-Man movie yet.
Frankly, Spider-Man: Homecoming is the only real news at the box office this week, as the bug is primed to squash all competition in theaters across the globe in yet another incarnation. It’s none too soon, either, since the box office has been in a doldrum this summer as mega franchises seem to have already run their course with fatigued audiences, including the hobbling fifth films in franchises like Transformers and Pirates of the Caribbean. In fact, up to now, only a few films this season, including Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 and Wonder Woman, have performed at or above expectations.
But it’s not all Spider-Man this week. There’s plenty of news elsewhere in the wide world of entertainment, of course, and as always, we’re your guides to all the hottest happenings. Speaking of franchise fatigue, Marvel’s gigantic Avengers film, Infinity War, is starting to take shape ahead of its May 2018 debut. We got new photos from the set this week, as virtually anyone who’s ever even cameoed in a Marvel film seems to have made the roster for this epic conclusion to a titanic 22-film run.
We got more news on that front today, as well, as Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige confirmed Infinity War will mark the end of its three-phase project. That doesn’t mean the MCU will stop, though, or even slow down. What it does mean is that fan favorites like Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr., and others may be stepping away from their respective franchises as their contracts expire, after having already put Marvel on notice. You can’t blame them (RDJ will have put in his time as Iron Man in near a dozen films by the time he’s done), but it does make you wonder how the universe will continue without the faces that helped change the history of Marvel film — and blockbusters, in general — over the last 10 years, all beginning with one of the best (and this author’s personal favorite) films in the franchise, 2008’s Iron Man.
