Marvel Studios/Sony Pictures
Director John Watts in a recent interview Collider told an interesting story about the creation of «Spider-Man: No Way Home» — it turns out that one of the movie’s defining moments helped shape a fan post on Reddit.
It’s about the long-awaited return of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. Watts saw a fan-made concept art on Reddit that matched his original idea: to bring the actors in at a time when Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is going through his worst period since the death of his Aunt May.
«There were rumors that Toby and Andrew would star in the movie. We were writing the script and chose the right moment when the portals would open. It was somewhere on the roof,» says Watts. «Then I went to Reddit and saw fan art: it was sad, two Dr. Strange portals open, and two Spider-Men coming out of them. I thought: “Well, we can’t do that. If this is what everyone thinks it is, we definitely can’t do it.”»
It was then that Watts invented a scene that eventually made it into the final version of the movie:
«I thought: “Maybe two Spider-Men will appear in the house of Ned’s Filipino grandmother in Queens.” Hardly anyone had done fan art on this topic on Reddit. It made sense in the story because it’s the first time we leave the confines of Peter’s narrative. We don’t know what happened to him. We’re with Ned, we’re with MJ. They have to hide. Where are they going to go? To Ned’s grandmother’s house. So we built the whole scene around that».
The return of Maguire and Garfield helped the movie «Spider-Man: No Way Home» to gross $1.9 billion at the global box office, a post-Covid era record that was only surpassed by «Avatar: The Waterway» with $2.3 billion. Both actors have already expressed interest in potentially returning for the new movie:
«If these guys called me and said: “Would you like to come over tonight to hang out and have some fun?” or “Would you like to come over to be in this movie, read a scene, or do something with Spider-Man?” — I would say yes! Because why wouldn’t I?», — Maguire declared (via Variety).
The fourth Spider-Man movie starring Tom Holland will be released under the title «Spider-Man: A Brand New Day» / Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Zendaya (MJ) and Jacob Batalon (Ned) are expected to return in the sequel, although the former will get limited screen time. Among the newcomers, meanwhile starred «Stranger Things» Sadie Sink — her role has not been revealed, but it is assumed that the actress will play the mutant «X-Men» Jean Grey, who has been portrayed by Famke Janssen and Sophie Turner in the past. Rumors also hint at a new villain to be played by Sacha Baron Cohen.
John Watts, who directed the previous three installments, will be replaced in the director’s chair by Destin Daniel Cretton («Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings»). Amy Pascal and Marvel President Kevin Feige are producing, and the script was written by Eric Sommers and Chris McKenna. The movie release date «Spider-Man 4» is currently postponed to July 31, 2026 — in order not to encounterpremiere «Odyssey» Christopher Nolan.