Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verseis widely considered one of the best movies in theSpider-Manfranchise, telling the tale of different versions of the webbed wall-crawler from different dimensions coming together to save the day. As revealed by the movie’s producer Christopher Miller, there was once a plan to have the movie feature cameos by Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield, until Sony shot down the idea.
“We pitched the Sony brass an ambitious tag involving Spider-Ham, Tobey, Andrew, and Tom. They felt it was “too soon”.”
Disappointing news for fans ofSpider-Man, who would have been over the moon to see the actors who have carried forward the legacy of Peter Parker/Spider-Man on the big screen gathered together in the same scene. Tom Holland had also previously teased the possibility of a crossover withInto the Crossover, which makes his absence from the film particularly biting.
Previously,Into the Spiderverseco-director Rodney Rothman had mentioned writing a scene which featured all three actors, before it got nixed.
“I wrote a scene that had every, that hadTom Hollandand Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire in the same scene and… I don’t want to get into it but I did write that scene, but there’s a lot of anxiety, there’s a lot of anxiety around the movie generally and there was anxiety about confusing people.”
In the end, a version of the crossover did take place, in the form of Peter B. Parker, an older Spider-Man from another dimension who appeared in the movie as a mentor of sorts for Morales, voiced by Jake Johnson. The makers of the film have stated that Johnson’s character is intended to be an amalgamation of various Spider-Mans from different movies and cartoons, including the live-action films.
This is not the first time an awesome cameo was missed out on in aSpider-Manmovie. The first trilogy, featuringTobey Maguire, was supposed to feature a cameo by Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, but the scene had to be cut when the studio could not find Wolverine’s costume.
However, with Sony now committed to building its own Spider-Man franchise, the time is ripe for crossovers galore. Tom Hardy’s Venom and Holland’s Spider-Man are destined to meet up soon, possibly as quickly asVenom 2: Let There be Carnageif the hints Hardy has been leaving on social media are any indication.
There there is the trailer forMorbius, which already connects to Maguire’s Spider-Man with a background poster, and the MCU through the introduction of Adrian Toomes aka Vulture. Now all that is needed is a reference to theSpider-Manfilms ofAndrew Garfieldfor the trifecta of Spidey actors to be fully represented in the currentSpiderman Cinematic Universe.
And if Sony is feeling particularly ambitious, they can also use the concept of the Multiverse from Marvel Comics, just like the MCU is doing, to create an entire movie where live-actionSpider-Menfrom different dimensions, played by Maguire, Garfield, and Holland team up to save the day. We do, after all, live in the golden age of comic book movies, where such a project is finally possible.
