Following Tom Holland's introduction as Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War, it was down to Jon Watts to pick up where the Russo Brothers left the web-slinger with 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming.
That spawned a hugely successful trilogy, which included Spider-Man: Far From Home and the record-breaking Spider-Man: No Way Home. From there, the plan had been for Watts to helm Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four reboot; burnt out from the arduous process of making Spidey's last movie during the pandemic, the filmmaker instead decided to hand the reins to Matt Shakman.
Talking to Variety, Watts was asked whether he's spoken with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton about next July's Spider-Man: Brand New Day. It's the first Spidey movie since 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 that he won't be behind the camera for.
"We talked a little bit at the very, very beginning, but I’m very close to that franchise, so I just had to step back and let everyone do their job," Watts shared. "It’s going to be genuinely weird for me going to see that movie for the first time. It’s going to be a really interesting feeling. It’s a passing of the torch and I’m curious to see where it goes."
As for whether he'd like to return to the superhero genre after walking away from The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Watts said, "I’m open to anything and everything. I’m not limiting myself in that way. I’m most attracted to original ideas. That’s sort of like the North Star for me — big, original ideas. But there are so many great things already out there that I think you can find a way to make it your own and to make it feel original."
The trade pushed him on whether there's a specific character or franchise he has his eye on, prompting Watts to respond, "Yeah, but I wouldn’t want to say. I know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of getting a bunch of emails as a producer, saying, 'Did you see the thing that Jon Watts said about how he wants to do this?' They’re busy enough as it is."
"My friend Jake Schreier is doing 'X-Men,' though, which is really exciting," he said of his old college roommate. "I loved the 'X-Men' growing up, but it’s fun to just be a fan on the sidelines again."
Watts has been keeping busy since bidding farewell to the MCU, with Star Wars TV series Skeleton Crew proving a hit with fans and critics on Disney+ last year. While Lucasfilm hasn't renewed the series, does he expect to make Season 2?
"I mean, I love 'Star Wars.' I’d love to do anything in the 'Star Wars' universe and I think we set it up in a way where the story can continue in a lot of interesting ways," Watts teased.
Which Marvel character do you think the filmmaker would be a good fit for after he helmed the MCU's Spider-Man trilogy?