Spider-Man: Far From Home "played with the idea" of not including the final Peter Parker twist

Spider Man Far From Home
(Image credit: Disney/Marvel Studios)

Spider-Man: Far From Home managed to shake up the MCU in a big way – but it could have gone very differently. According to the writers of the Spidey sequel, one of the biggest twists in the Spider-Man: Far From Home post-credits scene was very drastically different and would have changed Peter Parker’s fate entirely. Spoilers for Spider-Man: Far From Home follow.

During an interview with the New York Times, co-writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers revealed that Mysterio framing Peter Parker and subsequently revealing his identity wasn’t in the pair’s original plan; Parker himself would be the one to let his secret slip during the final battle in London.

“We played with the idea that Peter is the one who sacrifices his identity out of necessity during the final battle,” explained McKenna. “Then it seemed more interesting if Mysterio tricks him into doing it, but any time we wrote a version where he was being revealed to the world in that battle, it felt like it diminished the victory.”

So, instead of Mysterio potentially ruining Peter’s life entirely, an earlier draft was far more restrained.The webhead revealing his own identity may have been intriguing, but the moment we got with the news report felt far more in tune with Quentin Beck’s character. He is, after all, someone who always has a final trick up his sleeve.

In fact, the Spider-Man: Far From Home ending as a whole could have seen Spider-Man off on a bit of a downer, with the first of two post-credits scenes being bumped up into the ‘actual’ movie. McKenna said: “Before it became a tag, it was really just the end of the movie: right as he feels he’s stepping up as Spider-Man, he has the rug pulled out from under him again.”

Kudos to Marvel for following through with the brave decision. Taking the road less travelled makes a potential MCU Spider-Man 3 infinitely more interesting than it otherwise would have been had the first draft been rubber-stamped by Kevin Feige. Instead of Spider-Man taking off the mask himself, he’s had it ripped from him forever. Poor Pete.

How does Far From Home stack up against the MCU's finest? Find out in our best Marvel movies list.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.