Madame Web Allegedly Removed A Big Andrew Garfield Spider-Man Connection (Report)
According to a behind-the-scenes rumor, the relationship between "Madame Web" and the overarching cinematic Spider-Man canon changed throughout the film's production. A post-credits scene after "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" unites the Sony Pictures universe of Spider-Man-adjacent movies with Tom Holland's take on Spider-Man. "Madame Web" will supposedly also be set within the primary Marvel Cinematic Universe continuity, but only after a decision to have it take place in the Andrew Garfield Spider-Man universe was retconned.
Jeff Sneider, a typically reputable Hollywood insider, detailed this rumor on an episode of the podcast "The Hot Mic," available on YouTube. According to his rumored intel, "Madame Web" was initially a '90s period piece set in the reality of Garfield's Amazing Spider-Man series. Then, plans changed, and the film's setting was altered to align with the universe in which Holland plays Peter. Sneider added that extensive reshoots revolved around altering references to the '90s so "Madame Web" fits better with the Holland continuity.
Of course, "Spider-Man: No Way Home" canonically unites the various live-action Spider-Man universes, so new characters in "Madame Web" would be linked to the MCU in some capacity. Nevertheless, changing the movie's spot on the timeline midway through production allegedly meant making considerable adjustments.
One Madame Web theory sheds some additional light on its canonical importance
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, director SJ Clarkson suggested that Dakota Johnson's Madame Web character isn't necessarily beholden to other Sony or Marvel movies. "She's definitely in a standalone world. I was able to just have free rein and let the movie be what it needed to be, as opposed to trying to force it into something else."
While this quote makes it sound like "Madame Web" is untethered to existing continuity, that likely isn't the case. Emma Roberts plays a character who has yet to be named but whom fans believe is Mary Parker, Peter Parker's mother. In one set photo, Roberts' character appears to be pregnant, implying that "Madame Web" takes place just before the birth of Tom Holland's incarnation of Peter. The movie's 2003 setting corroborates this. If the reason Clarkson's film isn't bound to existing material is simply because it takes place before the events of any Holland Spider-Man movie, then her statement can still be true. It's worth noting that Holland's Peter was born in August 2001, so perhaps "Madame Web" will retcon some character details.
According to Jeff Sneider's rumor — and presuming the belief about Roberts' role to be true — even if neither Andrew Garfield nor Holland appears in "Madame Web," Mary was once supposed to be pregnant with the future Garfield version of Peter Parker. Instead, the unborn child is Holland's take on the character.