Spider-Man: No Way Home script was changed after Reddit guessed how Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield would be introduced

Spider-Man: No Way Home
(Image credit: Sony Pictures/Marvel)

Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts has revealed that the Marvel movie's script was changed after a piece of Reddit fan art predicted how previous Spidey actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield would be introduced in the multiverse crossover.

Speaking at the Mediterrane Film Festival (via Collider), Watts said that although it was "pretty easy" to keep the existence of the other Spider-Men a secret, he admitted that one Reddit user inadvertently drew up their original plans to a tee.

"We were writing the script, and we were working on where we wanted to reveal the guys, and it always seemed like Peter’s going to be sad because Aunt May has just died, and that the portals are going to open, and the two Spider-Men are going to step out It’s probably a rooftop somewhere. It’s all sort of hazy," Watts explained.

"Then I was on Reddit, and I was looking at people who had already made fan art of, 'This is probably what it’s going to be like when the two Spider-Men get revealed.' It was on a rooftop. It was sad, two Doctor Strange portals were open and two Spider-Men are stepping out. I was like, 'Well, we can’t do that. If that’s exactly what everyone thinks we’re going to do, we absolutely can’t do that.'"

In the final cut, both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield arrive courtesy of Ned's sling ring, with the Spider-Men having been dragged into Earth-616 after Tom Holland's Peter Parker interrupted Doctor Strange's memory-erasing spell.

The original introduction scene in question was seemingly repurposed in the movie, with the trio of Spider-Men meeting on a rooftop and Garfield and Maguire's characters perched above Tom Holland before swinging down to give him some much-needed advice after the death of his Aunt May.

Next up for Tom Holland's webcrawler is Spider-Man: Brand New Day, starring Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Sadie Sink, and Jon Bernthal.

For more, check out the upcoming Marvel movies heading your way very soon. Then swing on over to discover our rankings of the best Spider-Man movies.

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.

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