Why ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’ Isn’t Part of the MCU Canon
Disney+ just released the trailer for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, an animated series that’s set for a January 29, 2025, release date on the streaming platform.
The series will follow Peter Parker’s origin story but for those MCU fans who know Spider-Man’s origin story because of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man trilogy (with a fourth film already in the works), the series might be a bit unnerving to watch.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Not Part of the MCU Canon
According to Collider, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is not part of the MCU canon as confirmed by Brad Winderbaum, Marvel TV head in a recent interview with the Phase Hero podcast. The series created a lot of challenges for the team when they tried to align it with the MCU. They have ultimately decided to go another route in telling Peter Parker’s story and not be hindered by the restrictions of following MCU canon.
Winderbaum said, “Every single project I’ve worked on, they’ve all had a life of their own. You have to let them live their own lives and go where they want to go.”
Major Differences
Since the animation series is set in a parallel timeline, here are some of the major differences, we’ve seen from the trailer:
- Green Goblin: In Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Norman Osborn aka Green Goblin voiced by Colman Domingo seems to be Spider-Man’s (Hudson Thames) mentor and who gave him his suit in contrast to Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man giving Holland’s Spider-Man his suit.
- His Suit: Spider-Man’s classic red and blue suit is iconic, but in the trailer for the animated series, it looks like he’ll be sporting a white suit. This might confuse fans who are only familiar with Spider-Man through the MCU films. However, comic book enthusiasts know that Spider-Man has worn a white suit before. Spider-Man’s White Suit appeared in the Spider-Man 2099 vol 3 #1.
Familiar Characters
Even though the storyline takes place in a different timeline, familiar characters beyond Green Goblin will make appearances in the series. Aunt May (Kari Wahlgren), Harry Osborn (Zeno Robinson), Dr. Octopus (Hugh Dancy), and Daredevil (Charlie Cox) are all set to show up. Charlie Cox portrayed the character in the live-action television series Daredevil and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. He is also set to appear in his revival series Daredevil: Born Again. Vincent D’Onofrio will also reprise his Daredevil character Wilson Fisk, aka the Kingpin, in the series.
