Avengers Directors End the Debate: Spider-Man Isn’t to Blame for Uncle Ben’s Death in the MCU

So, 2026 is shaping up to be pretty huge for Spider-Man fans. 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' is swinging into theaters this summer, and not only is it expected to be a box office monster, it marks a full decade since Tom Holland first showed up as Peter Parker in 'Captain America: Civil War'. Yep, it's been ten years since baby-faced Spidey dropped into the MCU, which officially makes me feel ancient.

With the anniversary rolling around, Civil War directors Joe and Anthony Russo have been doing the nostalgia interview circuit. They recently chatted with CBR about their experience making one of the MCU's most popular movies, but what really caught my attention was a surprisingly candid reveal about their take on Spider-Man's origin—specifically, how they handled Uncle Ben.

Apparently, This Spider-Man Isn't Haunted by Uncle Ben... At Least, Not Directly

Here's the interesting bit: Joe Russo straight-up said that, in their minds at least, Tom Holland's Peter Parker wasn't responsible for Uncle Ben's death. That's a big break from Spider-Man tradition, where Peter watches his uncle get murdered and spends the rest of his life crushed by guilt because, famously, 'with great power comes great responsibility.' Russo's thinking? If Holland's Peter pinned Ben's death on himself, he'd be a much darker, more 'intense' guy.

To quote Joe Russo directly, because this is the kind of thing that gets fans arguing in comment sections for weeks:

'If he blamed himself for his Uncle Ben's death, I think he becomes a very different character. So in our minds, no, he wasn't responsible for Uncle Ben's death. That would have been a different interpretation. A more intense interpretation of the character.'

Worth pointing out—this is just how the Russos saw it while making Civil War. This isn’t Marvel Studios’ official timeline, and definitely not gospel from Kevin Feige. So don't throw your original Spider-Man comics out the window just yet.

The MCU Has Basically Ignored Uncle Ben (So Far)

Weirdly, the MCU hasn’t really bothered showing Peter getting bitten by anything radioactive, or even mentioning Uncle Ben beyond a couple of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Easter eggs. As far as we know, Ben is already dead when we first meet Peter in 'Civil War'. In 'Homecoming', Peter tells Ned he doesn’t want to stress Aunt May 'after everything they've been through'—which might be a Ben reference, but it’s deliberately left vague. Another nod comes in 'Far From Home', when Peter’s suitcase has 'BFP' on it—that’s Benjamin Franklin Parker, for the mega-nerds keeping score.

The only times Uncle Ben's actual name comes up in the MCU are when alternate Spider-people mention him: Maguire’s version in 'No Way Home', or an animated variant in the Marvel Zombies 'What If...?' episode. In other words, the live-action MCU Peter is basically living Uncle Ben's death off-screen and off-the-books.

All That Guilt Got Moved to Aunt May

Instead of anchoring Peter’s emotional baggage to Uncle Ben, the MCU gave all that tragic weight to Aunt May, especially in 'No Way Home'. Her death (thanks, Green Goblin, you absolute menace) comes right after she delivers the classic 'with great power comes great responsibility' line. And after Peter nopes out of the timeline by making everyone forget him, he ends up completely alone—so the next movie is set for 'super lonely, super sad Spider-Man,' which should be fun to watch, if you like superhero misery.

Maybe, finally, after a decade, 'Brand New Day' will actually say something about this version’s Uncle Ben. Or maybe they'll keep avoiding it just to keep the internet guessing.

Breakdown: Spider-Man's History in the MCU

• 2016: Tom Holland debuts as Spider-Man/Peter Parker in 'Captain America: Civil War' (May 6 release)
• 2017-2021: Home Trilogy ('Homecoming', 'Far From Home', 'No Way Home')—almost no real Uncle Ben references
• 2026: 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' hits theaters, hyped to be one of the year's biggest releases and potentially a major turning point for the character

So, as the webhead swings into a new phase, here's hoping the writers finally decide if Uncle Ben matters to Holland’s Peter. It only took a decade, after all.