Spider-Man: Homecoming has the most diverse cast of any Marvel movie to date, although as some critics have pointed out, the story still revolves around white guys: Peter Parker, Tony Stark, and the Vulture. In a similar vein, Homecoming includes several female characters who aren’t love interests, but they’re relegated to supporting roles.
Aunt May is one of those characters, rebooted as a younger woman than previous adaptations. Marisa Tomei delivered a fun take on the role, although as we learned from an interview in the THuffington Post, Aunt May originally had more to do.
In an earlier version of the script, May had a scene where she inspired Peter’s heroism without realizing it. “There was something going on in the neighborhood, and there was a little girl in distress, and I saved her,” explained Tomei. “Peter saw me save her, so you kind of saw that he got part of his ethics from her.”
“Then I come home, and I don’t even tell him that that’s what happened, and, of course, there’s all this stuff that he’s not telling me. So he’s like, ‘How was your day?’ And I’m like, ‘It was fine,’ but really I was shaking inside because of this whole crisis that had happened in the city. I’m kind of fibbing to him, and he’s fibbing to me, and we’re living in this house together, and it was a very interesting setup. I was quite disappointed that wasn’t in there.”
Screenplays go through several drafts before filming, so this won’t be the only scene that got cut. Still, it’s sad to hear that May’s role became less interesting in the final version. Homecoming‘s female characters are fun and likable, but they don’t get much to do in terms of plot or character development. It would be cool to see May act as Peter’s role model, switching up the traditional story where Peter obsesses over Uncle Ben’s “with great power comes great responsibility” line.
Given the male-dominated nature of blockbuster movies, you’ll rarely see an older woman act as the hero’s mentor. That’s one of the many reasons Wonder Woman was so refreshing. Hopefully, in Homecoming‘s sequel, Aunt May will have more to do.