The death of Uncle Ben, much like the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne, has been done to death. It might form a key part in Spider-Man’s origin story, but we’ve already seen Peter Parker fail to stop that mugger already, and we don’t need to see it again. The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Spider-Man took note of this and didn’t show Uncle Ben at all, because they were smart enough to realize that the audience already know how he factors into Peter’s backstory without having him physically appear.
This being a comic book movie though, don’t entirely rule out a character from appearing even though they’re dead. In a recent interview, Spider-Man: Far From Home director Jon Watts has refused to refute the idea of Uncle Ben appearing in the next Spidey adventure in any capacity, saying:
“Yes, Uncle Ben did exist in the MCU. I mean, we don’t know… We never specifically say anything about him. So whether or not he’s around or not. Yeah. Everything’s on the table, is how I like to say it.”
Obviously Uncle Ben existed in the MCU as it informs the character of Spider-Man, but it’s interesting that Watts didn’t specifically say ‘no’ when asked. There’s only so many ways these movies can say ‘with great power comes great responsibility’ without actually saying it, and a flashback to Peter receiving his uncle’s iconic words of wisdom would be a huge fan-pleasing moment.
As long as it doesn’t turn out that he’s secretly been alive the whole time. Sony tried to mess with Spider-Man’s established origins in the alternate ending of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 when it turns out that Richard Parker survived the plane crash that he was presumed dead in and it didn’t go down well with the fans. Hopefully the crew behind Spider-Man: Far From Home don’t attempt something quite so radical.
