Spider-Man is coming home to Weber State University in a surprise announcement by Marvel Studios. Following the booming box office success of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” Marvel Studios has announced it will not only film one Spider-Man film on campus, but an entire trilogy.
The trilogy will star Tom Holland, as well as Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield.
“With Spider-Man going in new exciting directions in this new trilogy of Spider-films, Weber State University is the ideal location to set Peter Parker’s college journey,” Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios president, said. “The campus had a feeling that we are hoping to capture as Peter explores new territory in these films.”
This is unprecedented for WSU, as it never been home to a blockbuster film, let alone a blockbuster trilogy such as the Spider-Man movies.
The film trilogy will follow Holland on a new journey that will see his character enter Empire State University as he encounters the new version of the Lizard, which will be the same character seen in Garfield’s “The Amazing Spider-Man” franchise.
Spider-Man will have to call on his old spider-friends again with the help of Doctor Strange to fight this new foe, among many others.
“I am really excited to come to the Weber State campus,” Holland said. “It is unlike any filming location I have ever seen. The people are really great. I’m usually prone to giving away spoilers. But this is one spoiler I’m happy to give away.”
The filming for this first new film, entitled “Spider-Man: Home Away From Home,” will commence principal photography on Oct. 6, 2022, and will finish on Jan. 10, 2023.
Principal photography for the second film in this trilogy, “Spider-Man: No Place Like Home,” will commence on July 7, 2023 and complete filming Sept. 11, 2023. The final film, “Spider-Man: Welcome Home,” will begin principal photography on November 5, 2023 and finish filming on January 7, 2024.
As these production dates conflict with the semesters for students, arrangements will be made from instructors to students to navigate class schedules. Most classes will be virtual and online while filming occurs on campus.
In an effort to celebrate this momentous occasion, professors are being encouraged to implement Spider-Man into the course curriculum in any way possible, such as implementing Spider-Man graphic novels into their required English course readings and studying arachnids and lizards in science courses.
“It’s going to be a hard thing, navigating the new kinds of traffic this offers for our students,” Jacob Batalon, an English professor on campus, said. “But this is an exciting opportunity for everyone in the community to witness. I also am excited to implement Spider-Man books in my English classes.”
With this new community opportunity, students will be invited to take part in the filming by participating as extras and production assistants. Those students seeking to take part in those avenues should e-mail or contact the office of the president, as it will count as elective credit for any respective major.
“We are excited for our students to climb the path to graduation in a swift way through this exciting opportunity,” Brad Mortensen, WSU president, said. “Spider-Man’s mantra is ‘With great power comes great responsibility,’ and we can’t think of a better way for Weber students to exemplify that.”
