One of the most exciting moments for comic book fans in Spider-Man: Homecoming wasn’t one of the big action scenes but rather just a quick (sort of) namedrop of an important character in the Marvel mythos. When Peter Parker speaks to Donald Glover’s character at one point, the low-level criminal mentions that he has a nephew living locally. Cue dozens of heads metaphorically exploding in cinemas everywhere.
You see, Glover plays Aaron Davis, a character whose nephew in the comics is… Miles Morales, the second Spider-Man! The hero has been a massive hit with fans since he debuted in 2011 and many have been calling for the character to make his appearance in the movies, too. With this brief exchange, we now have confirmation that Miles exists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and could potentially appear in a future film.
Though he wouldn’t be drawn on the matter too much, producer Kevin Feige has spoken about the thinking behind the aforementioned line and whether Mr. Morales might turn up in the flesh at some point. Here’s what he said to IGN:
“Just like we referenced Dr. Stephen Strange in The Winter Soldier, we wanted to give that homage that he’s out there in the MCU somewhere. If and when we see him, I don’t know.”
While this isn’t a promise that Miles will appear, it’s still better than nothing. The fact that Feige referenced a similar incident in Captain America: The Winter Soldier gives us hope, anyway. Doctor Strange was namedropped in that movie and went on to star in his own film two years later. So, by that reasoning, we should see Miles in the MCU by 2019. Maybe he’ll even appear in Avengers 4?
Fine, that’s a stretch, but Miles Morales will still be on the big screen quite soon, as Sony are producing an animated movie starring the character, with Shameik Moore in the role. It’s due out December 14th, 2018. Spider-Man: Homecoming, meanwhile, is out in cinemas now.