Three Spider-Man movie franchises are united in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but this remarkably crowd-pleasing film was almost not part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Following the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home, tensions between Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios arose, leading to the two entities splitting and leaving the future of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man within the MCU uncertain. Holland's iteration of the iconic web-slinger distinguished himself by being intrinsically tied to the MCU’s vast lore—with some critics feeling that he was perhaps a bit too integrated into the larger Marvel universe, rather than being a friendly neighborhood hero—so while it may be difficult for some to imagine No Way Home outside of the MCU, it was nearly a reality in 2019.
Spider-Man is easily the most iconic of Marvel’s superhero properties, epitomizing the publisher’s penchant for creating realistic characters in a realistic world reacting to (or being imbued with) outlandish superpowers, futuristic technology, and extraterrestrial beings. Spider-Man’s status as an ordinary New Yorker who accidentally receives spider-like abilities has been as successful on film as it is in comic books, with two previous film franchises and an understandable desire from viewers and those within the film industry to see the web-slinger join the pop culture-dominating MCU franchise. Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures finally reached an agreement during Phase 3, resulting in Tom Holland’s Spider-Man appearing in two MCU solo films and as part of the ensemble cast of three other MCU movies.
Although Sony and Marvel renewed their partnership in 2019, in large part due to negative fan reactions, Sony nearly made Tom Holland’s third Spider-Man film outside of Marvel Studios’ MCU. While the film could have ended up with any number of alternate plot lines if this was the case, the final version of No Way Home notably has fewer ties to the MCU than the first two Tom Holland Spider-Man films. Had Sony and Marvel not made a new agreement in 2019, here’s what an alternate version of Spider-Man: No Way Home would have looked like.
Peter Parker's Lawyer Wouldn't Be Matt Murdock
A brief but nevertheless crowd-pleasing moment in No Way Home was Matt Murdock’s cameo appearance as Peter Parker’s lawyer. Murdock’s appearance essentially confirmed that the Marvel Netflix shows were still part of the MCU canon, but the scene itself could have featured any lawyer, as long as they helped Peter and May Parker avoid legal consequences for Mysterio revealing Spider-Man’s secret identity. The film would likely use a lawyer from the Spider-Man comic mythos, such as Anne Weying, or perhaps even the future supervillain Janice Lincoln. Happy Hogan and any mention of Stark Industries would also be absent from this scene.
Peter & Aunt May Move (But Not To Happy's Safe House)
Not only would Happy Hogan be missing from this version of No Way Home, but his safehouse would be too. Peter Parker and Aunt May would have to move to another apartment for their safety and privacy. Wherever they go, they’d lack the same advanced security devices as Happy’s safehouse, but this wouldn’t make a significant difference in the long run. Peter Parker disabled Happy’s security measures when inviting the multiverse villains over in the MCU’s No Way Home, so the measures were ultimately irrelevant.
No Way Home Could've Had Madame Web Instead Of Doctor Strange
A key component of No Way Home’s plot is Peter Parker seeking the help of Doctor Strange to make the world forget his double identity, leading to a botched spell that nearly collapses the multiverse. Without access to the MCU’s Doctor Strange, however, Sony’s version of No Way Home would have to utilize a different Marvel hero with similar abilities. Sony could introduce a new version of Madame Web and have her play the same role as Doctor Strange, trying to help Peter but instead damaging the fabric of the multiverse, causing villains from the previous two Spider-Man universes to enter the reality of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker. Really, the only other way around this would be to drastically rewrite the premise of the film.
No Way Home Would Still Have Multiverse Villains
Sony’s version of No Way Home wouldn’t be able to use MCU characters, but it’d still have full access to the iconic supervillains of the previous Spider-Man franchises. Thus, the six multiversal supervillains would still become trapped in the same reality as Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and become his greatest challenge yet. While Happy Hogan and Stark Industries couldn’t appear in this version of No Way Home, Peter Parker’s Iron Spider costume would probably still be used in his fight against Doctor Octopus. As long as Sony’s version of No Way Home doesn’t mention Tony Stark or Stark Industries, the suit and its potent nanotechnology would remain, though perhaps the technology wouldn’t be integrated into Peter’s upgraded costume.
Norman Osborn & Otto Octavius Wouldn't Rely On Stark Technology
Without Tony Stark’s fabricator, Sony’s version of No Way Home would have to instead focus on the genius intellects of Peter Parker, Norman Osborn, and Otto Octavius. In both the comics and the live-action films, Osborn and Octavius are easily as brilliant as Tony Stark, so it’s not difficult to imagine Norman Osborn and Peter Parker constructing a new inhibitor chip for Octavius without any Stark Industries technology at their disposal. Once he’s back in his right mind, Otto Octavius could construct a miniature version of his fusion reactor serving the same function as Stark’s Arc Reactor for Max Dillon. Alternatively, Norman Osborn’s Green Goblin persona might build a similar device to the Arc Reactor to entice Electro to his side with an upgrade to his powers.
Tobey Maguire & Andrew Garfield Could Still Appear
Among the most exciting characters to appear in No Way Home are the two previous iterations of Spider-Man, played by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. Since both characters belong to Sony, not Marvel Studios, there would be no issues in bringing them back in a Sony version of the film. The MCU version of No Way Home may include numerous ties to Marvel Studios’ franchise, but it is, ultimately, a love letter to Spider-Man’s cinematic history in general. For this, the inclusion of Tobey and Andrew’s Spider-Man variants would likely remain, though perhaps Tom Holland’s iteration would eschew his references to Thanos as the three heroes chat on top of the Statue of Liberty.
No Way Home's Ending Would've Ended Spider-Man's MCU Story
This version of No Way Home would likely end on the same note as the MCU iteration, with the world forgetting not only Peter Parker’s secret identity but Peter Parker himself, cleaning the slate for future films. While the MCU version’s ending puts the Spider-Man franchise in the perfect position to continue with or without any ties to the larger MCU continuity, Sony might take it a step further if they believe that they’ll never reunite with Marvel Studios. In this case, Madame Web could solve Peter Parker’s problems and save the multiverse by perhaps sending Spider-Man to a new reality, in this case, the ongoing Sony Spider-Man universe, as seen in the Venom and Morbius films. This would allow the Spider-Man franchise to not only continue without any MCU ties but also place Holland’s Spider-Man in an entirely separate universe at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
