Spider-Man: No Way Home Cut Three Major Marvel Supporting Characters

Starring Tom Holland in the title role, the 2021 global blockbuster "Spider-Man: No Way Home" expanded its narrative into the multiverse to include seven major characters from previous "Spider-Man" films made outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As it turns out, however, the screenwriters behind the superhero extravaganza — Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers — tried to bring in three more key supporting characters from the films, but their efforts came up short.

The characters that did make the cut for "Spider-Man: No Way Home," of course, were from Sony Pictures' Marvel films, since the studio holds the rights to the "Spider-Man" movie brand. As such, audiences got to see Tobey Maguire's and Andrew Garfield's iterations of Spider-Man in the MCU via the multiversal storyline of "Spider-Man: No Way Home," along with many of the villains the superheroes encountered in their respective films.

But according to the new book, "MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios," written by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzalez, and Gavin Edwards, the screenwriters attempted to bring in one more character from Maguire's "Spider-Man" film and two from Garfield's film. That is until the filmmakers apparently realized they had too much of a good thing.

"Sommers and McKenna, at various points, wrote versions of the story that incorporated Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy, Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane Watson, and Sally Field's Aunt May, but ultimately cut all those women when they decided that the story was already overstuffed; the only female characters with significant screen time would be Marisa Tomei's Aunt May and Zendaya's MJ," the authors wrote.

In "Spider-Man: No Way Home," Peter Parker (Tom Holland) recruits Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to create a spell to erase the memories of those who learned his true identity as Spider-Man after Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) exposes it at the end of 2019's "Spider-Man: Far From Home." However, when Peter meddles with the spell as Strange is casting it, the sorcerer inadvertently tears a hole in the multiverse. As such, Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), and Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) from the original "Spider-Man" film trilogy appear, as well as the Lizard (Rhys Ifans) and Electro (Jamie Foxx) from "The Amazing Spider-Man" films. The multiversal adventure is made complete when Tobey Maguire's and Andrew Garfield's iterations of Spider-Man appear.

While Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy, Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane Watson, and Sally Field's Aunt May didn't make the final script, Marvel Studios was apparently serious enough about their appearances to get them to sign onto the film just in case things worked out. "Because the screenplay was constantly in flux, none of the actors could read a locked script, and they joined the project based on their faith in [Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige], [producer Amy Pascal], and director Jon Watts," wrote the authors of "MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios."

With any luck, Stone, Dunst, and Field could get another shot at appearing in an MCU film now that Marvel's multiverse films are in full swing. On top of that, in Garfield's interview for "Spider-Man: No Way Home – The Art of the Movie," the Spider-Man actor teased that his Marvel future is far from over. Meanwhile, Spider-Man rumors have surfaced about Maguire and Sam Raimi reuniting for a new movie.