Marvel Cinematic Universe audience members are finally getting the answers to one of the biggest changes for Peter Parker.

In a new interview with CBR to celebrate the anniversary of Captain America: Civil War being released a decade ago, the Russo brothers finally revealed why the MCU version of the web-crawler underwent a major change, as they removed the Uncle Ben element from Peter’s origin story. Joe Russo began with sharing, “Spider-Man was one of my favorite characters growing up, if not my favorite. And what I related to was this idea of a kid with incredible responsibility, right? And I think you could manifest that responsibility through accidental death, right? And feeling the pressure, and the sense of loss in your life in a way that would keep the spirit that we wanted.”

He continued by stating, “[But] what Tom Holland is as an actor, if he blamed himself for his Uncle Ben’s death, I think he becomes a very different character. So in our minds, no, he wasn’t responsible for Uncle Ben’s death. That would have been a different interpretation. A more intense interpretation of the character.” Instead, the MCU timeline saw Holland’s hero tragically lose Aunt May in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Many could also argue that having to witness the death of Tony Stark in Avengers: Endgame filled the Uncle Ben-shaped hole in Peter’s journey, as Iron Man became a prominent male figure in his life. The loss of Robert Downey Jr.’s long-time hero was also instrumental for the web-crawler’s storyline in Spider-Man: Far From Home, and, to some degree, Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Given how Holland’s take on the Marvel icon entered the Avengers universe only a few years after Andrew Garfield’s franchise came to an abrupt end at Sony Pictures, doing Uncle Ben’s death for a third time in recent film history could have also felt too repetitive. Instead, it allowed Spider-Man’s MCU timeline to tackle new territory, especially with Aunt May being the family relative that he is forced to see die in front of him.

All of the trauma that these past films have explored also paved the way for Holland’s big return this year, as he will finally be reprising his role in Phase 6 this summer, which will be the start of a new chapter for the MCU veteran. With Peter now being on his own, the Spider-Man: Brand New Day story will explore the young adult living in a world where no one knows who he is anymore.

Catch Tom Holland’s appearances as the web-crawler in Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, which are all available through home media release and on streaming.

Release Date

May 6, 2016

Runtime

147 minutes

Writers

Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely

Producers

Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Patricia Whitcher, Stan Lee, Victoria Alonso, Alan Fine