HOLLYWOOD – At the world premiere of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, fans of the franchise were treated to a new Spider-Man story, in which Uncle Ben dies a number of times in many different ways.
“Uncle Ben’s passing is a pivotal moment in the development of Spider-Man’s character,” explained screenwriter Jonathan Goldstein. “It’s been touched on in previous films, but we wanted to really delve into it this time. That’s when we realized: who says Uncle Ben can only die once?”
Of the film’s two-hour runtime, approximately one hour and fifty-five minutes is dedicated to the various deaths of Uncle Ben. The first death occurs ten seconds into the film, cleverly incorporating the title credits which impale Uncle Ben as he attempts to hug Peter Parker. Other Uncle Ben deaths include a spontaneous combustion while explaining the importance of responsibility; and later, in a nod to the film’s villain The Vulture, a large bird lifts Uncle Ben really high into the sky before dropping him onto a freeway.
“Most of the budget was spent on these Uncle Ben death set pieces,” says director Jon Watts. “Special effects costs were through the roof. The scene where a plane crashes into Uncle Ben was well over a million–especially because we did it with mostly practical effects instead of CGI.”
Of the several high-cost scenes, the cast and crew were most proud of a location shot where Uncle Ben was catapulted into the mouth of Krakatoa, the Indonesian volcano; the scene where he’s mauled by a bunch of dogs; and the final scene of the film where hundreds of Uncle Bens battle each other in Times Square and all die.
Although the studio wouldn’t confirm details, there is speculation that Uncle Ben’s deaths will work their way into the extended MCU.
“I can’t say much,” Watts began slyly. “But in the next Avengers film, a certain angry green friend is gonna just fucking give it to Uncle Ben.”
