Spider-Man: Homecoming opted to not show Peter Parker getting bitten by the radioactive spider, and director Jon Watts has clarified why.
The director of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Jon Watts, opens up about the movie's decision to not show Peter being bitten by the radioactive spider. It has now been six years since Tom Holland joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War. By the start of that film, Peter Parker has already been operating as Spider-Man within the MCU, and many assumed his first solo film, Spider-Man: Homecoming, would feature his origin story.
Yet in contrast to both Sam Raimi's Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man, which were origin stories that showed Peter developing his powers and becoming the iconic superhero, Spider-Man: Homecoming opted to skip it. Instead, the movie picks up with Peter trying to be a fully-fledged superhero, although it does allude to the origin in conversation. The MCU's series moved forward with two more installments, and Peter's major origin story moments of getting bit by the spider and the death of Uncle Ben were never shown, which left some audience members frustrated over not seeing how this Spider-Man got his start.
In the new book With Great Power: How Spider-Man Conquered Hollywood during the Golden Age of Comic Book Blockbusters by author Sean O'Connell, Spider-Man: Homecoming director Jon Watts opens up about the decision to not show Spider-Man's origin story. This put Peter in a similar mindset as the audience, trying to piece together and understand how his powers work. Watts' full quote can be read below:
“It was just so nice to skip past it and just deal with more with the repercussions… and just explore it from the perspective of someone else finding out about it and having a lot of questions.”
By the time Spider-Man: Homecoming hit theaters, audiences had already seen five separate Spider-Man movies and countless animated series, which have all touched upon his origin story. It was ground that had been explored so much, it was safe to assume anyone going into Spider-Man: Homecoming likely was familiar with the hero's start, so they could jump into a more exciting story of an established hero who is still coming into their own. This is the same route that The Batman took; director Matt Reeves chose to skip over Thomas and Martha Wayne getting shot and instead showed Batman in an adventure similar to countless comic book stories. Therefore, it's easy to see a world where movies skip over well-known origins with more frequency. If audiences know them already, there is no need to waste time covering well-trodden ground.