Madame Web Concept Art Reveals Cut Scenes With Tom Holland's Spider-Man
Overall, "Madame Web" failed to make waves in the ways those at Sony hoped it would. Much like "Morbius" and, to a lesser extent, the two "Venom" films — the only other films released within the Sony "Spider-Man" Universe to date — the film struggled to make many positive headlines, being torn apart by moviegoers and critics alike. Not to mention, "Madame Web" also bombed at the box office, adding salt to the wounds. Of course, one has to wonder if the movie would've performed better had a certain web-slinger appeared as pitched early on.
At one point during the production process, it seemed that the minds behind "Madame Web" wanted Tom Holland's take on Spider-Man to appear. This is evidenced by concept artwork from artist Sebastian Meyer, where Holland's Spidey can be seen taking the fight to the feature's main antagonist, the "evil Spider-Man" Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim). Spidey's suit resembles a cross between those from "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and the tail end of "Spider-Man: No Way Home," with a traditional red-and-blue color scheme, black accents, and a small spider emblem on the chest. Sims' suit also looks a bit different with a more black-and-gray color scheme than the one in the final film.
Evidently, Holland's Spider-Man doesn't appear in the theatrical version of "Madame Web," which is very much for the best. After all, his appearance wouldn't make any sense.
Spider-Man being in Madame Web wouldn't make any sense
There are multiple reasons why putting Tom Holland's version of Spider-Man into the "Madame Web" story wouldn't be too prudent. First and foremost is the fact that Holland's Spidey is in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and "Madame Web" is supposedly in its own individual timeline, despite seemingly being part of the SSU. Director S.J. Clarkson claimed as much during a chat with Entertainment Weekly, explaining that Cassandra Webb (Dakota Johnson, who Sony is allegedly mad at over "Madame Web") is "definitely in a standalone world." While it's entirely possible that Spider-Verse shenanigans could've brought the MCU's Spidey to the "Madame Web" timeline, bringing in such a narrative element would open up a whole other can of worms that would've likely altered the story drastically if properly explored.
Multiversal antics aside, for the sake of argument, what if "Madame Web" is covertly in the MCU, thus making Holland's Spidey a part of the same timeline? Well, this angle doesn't work either. "Madame Web" is primarily set in 2003, and it has been revealed that the MCU's Peter Parker was born in 2001. Therefore, at the age of 2 with his uncle, Ben Parker (Adam Scott), still alive, he wouldn't be Spider-Man yet. With this timeline in mind, Spidey's battle with Ezekiel Sims can't even happen in the future, seeing as the villain is killed by the end of "Madame Web." That is, unless the art depicts an alternate future of some kind seen by the clairvoyant Webb.
While witnessing a fight between Spider-Man and his evil doppelganger could've been fun to see in "Madame Web," the fact is that both the film and the MCU's Spidey are better off without such a moment in this context.