No Way Home's Original Maguire & Garfield Intro Would've Been Much Worse

Summary

Spider-Man: No Way Home initially had a different plan to introduce Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Men, which could have affected the movie's success.
The original plan involved a Marvel character bringing the two Spider-Men in after the death of Aunt May, taking away the surprise and excitement.
The final introduction of Maguire and Garfield's Spider-Men felt more natural and suspenseful, allowing for the audience to fully realize the long-awaited crossover was happening.

Spider-Man: No Way Home brought together all three live-action Spider-Men thanks to the multiverse chaos provoked by Peter Parker and Doctor Strange, and the introduction of the previous two versions of Spider-Man – Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield – was originally much worse and would have deeply affected the movie. The Marvel Cinematic Universe went through much development in Phase 4, which explored new themes and concepts that set the Multiverse Saga in motion – perhaps most importantly by formally introducing the MCU multiverse to audiences in releases like Spider-Man: No Way Home, which made past Spider-Man movies and characters MCU canon.

Spider-Man: No Way Home picks up minutes after the ending of Spider-Man: Far From Home, where Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) framed Spider-Man (Tom Holland) for his murder and revealed his identity, leading Doctor Strange to cast a botched spell that opened the gates of the multiverse. This allowed villains from past Spider-Man movies to cross over to the Spider-Man: No Way Home cast, and as rumored and speculated prior to the movie's release, it also brought Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s versions of Peter Parker/Spider-Man to the MCU timeline. However, the manner in which the duo were introduced was almost very different, and could've hampered the success of this ground-breaking movie step in the Multiverse Saga.

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How Spider-Man: No Way Home Was Originally Going To Introduce Andrew Garfield & Tobey Maguire

Split image of Peter in Spider-Man, Peter in Spider-Man No Way Home, and Peter in The Amazing Spider-Man

As Holland’s Peter dealt with the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and the death of Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), Ned (Jacob Batalon) discovered he could open portals with Strange’s sling ring, which he took when they trapped the sorcerer in the Mirror Dimension. Ned and MJ (Zendaya) decided to use these portals to find Peter, but instead, they found Maguire’s Peter (Peter-Two) and Garfield’s (Peter-Three), and together they all found this universe’s Peter (Peter-One, of course). This introduction of the past Spider-Men was an exciting moment for fans who had speculated about their return for months, but had the creative team behind No Way Home gone with their original idea for their first scenes, the reception would have been very different.

Speaking to Variety in December 2021, No Way Home screenwriters Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna spoke about the process behind all the twists and surprises in the movie, and they obviously addressed the return of Maguire and Garfield. McKenna revealed that they originally planned a very different introduction for these two Spider-Men, as they would have arrived just after the death of Aunt May in a way that would have taken away the surprise and excitement of seeing them walk from the shadows. McKenna explained they were going to be brought by “a Marvel character” (though who exactly remains unknown) as the “saving graces and they’re going to help you through this”, accepting that “it was just more of a deus ex machina”.

Why No Way Home's Original Spider-Man Introduction Plan Wouldn't Have Been As Good

Tobey Maguire smirking in Spider-Man No Way Home

The way Maguire and Garfield were ultimately introduced in No Way Home had some deus ex machina sprinkled over it, as they conveniently showed up when Ned and MJ needed help. However, being casually being brought by another character would have made the Garfield & Maguire Spider-Man introduction feel akin to the MCU cameo formula more, resulting in a more forced crossover starting point. In the actual movie, though, Peter-Two and Peter-Three’s introductions even left a couple of seconds of suspense for the audience to wonder if they were truly in the MCU now, as Garfield showed up in full costume in a dark alley and Maguire literally walked in from the shadows.

Not only did this moment let audiences adjust and have their own personal realization that the long-anticipated crossover was actually happening, but the characters' own confusion over how they ended up in another timeline and how they had just casually walked through a portal helped their introductions feel more natural. Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s return in Spider-Man: No Way Home was the biggest treat the MCU has given fans, and they had to be very careful with how they handled every detail about it, with the story of the characters' altered introduction being just one example of many regarding how much thought went into making the movie feel special.