SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME Director Jon Watts Reveals Version Of The Movie He "Absolutely Refused" To Make

In a new interview, Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts outlines one version of the movie that was pitched early on that he flat out refused to make... and it's easy to see why!

News

By MarkCassidy - Jun 27, 2025 04:06 PM EST

Filed Under: No Way Home

2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home brought fans a team-up they never expected to see on the big screen, with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield returning as their takes on the iconic web-slinging hero from Sam Raimi's trilogy and The Amazing Spider-Man movies, respectively.

Though both actors were deliberately kept out of all marketing in the build-up to the film's release, their involvement was one of the MCU's worst-kept secrets. Maguire and Garfield ended up having fairly substantial roles in No Way Home once they showed up, but this may not have been the case if a certain unnamed individual had their way.

While speaking to Collider, director Jon Watts revealed that an idea that was pitched from "one unspoken person" was to have Garfield and Maguire's Spideys swing by for what would have been little more than cameo appearances during the final battle.

"I remember there was one unspoken person who was like, 'Whatever is happening in the movie in the third act, oh no, Peter Parker’s in trouble! Thwip, where did that web come from? Thwip, where did that web come from?' Reveal: Tobey and Andrew. They swing in, they save the day, they leave. I was like, 'I won’t make that. I absolutely refuse to make that.' Just a character showing up for a cameo, being like, 'Hello! Remember me? Okay, see you later.' I was like, 'That’s not going to happen.'"

We don't know for certain who Watts is referring to here, but we're sure there will be plenty of speculation!

Thankfully, Watts stuck to his guns, and Peters 2 and 3 proved to be vital parts of the story.

"So, with this broad-stroke idea about three versions of the same guy being able to learn to help each other in a really dark time, I thought that was enough of an emotional seat to build a story around," Watts continued. "As you do that, you’re like 'Well, why are they all here? What happened? How do you get to this situation?' That’s how we did it. We started there. It involves taking everyone seriously as a character, making sure it’s about something real and emotional, and then building it from there."

Watts will not return to direct the fourth Spider-Man movie, Brand New Day, with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings helmer Destin Daniel Cretton stepping behind the camera.

Earlier today, cinematographer Brett Pawlak shared some very interesting images as part of a mood board, which you can check out here.

Andrew Garfield Would Love To Play SPIDER-MAN Again, But It Would Have To Be Very Weird

Recommended For You:

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: A New Friendship Is Born In First Clip From Universal's Live-Action Remake

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

Do you have what it takes to write for us?

Want to contribute?

25 Comments

OptimusCrime - 6/27/2025, 4:02 PM

Good choice.

Nightwing1015 - 6/27/2025, 4:05 PM

Some people had issues with No Way Home but this is an example of how bad it could’ve been

MyCoolYoung - 6/27/2025, 4:06 PM

He made the right decision. What they did was much more emotionally resonant

Android - 6/27/2025, 4:07 PM

He should have been in the writers of Multiverse of Madness' ear , because no one wanted 5 minute "hey you remember x character" cameos just it then have the characters killed off like they were .

YonnyLayna - 6/27/2025, 4:22 PM

@Android - yep The Illuminati were wasted, could have been developed giving that we will have Prof X and Bynary again on Doomsday 🙄

Android - 6/27/2025, 5:08 PM

@YonnyLayna - even just had their deaths be a slow more "oh crap black bolt is down we need to go "

FinnishDude - 6/27/2025, 7:20 PM

@Android - There's different ways to tell stories and the use of Illuminati was great for what MoM's story needed.

ModHaterSLADE - 6/27/2025, 4:08 PM

And it worked out wonderfully. I really like how these versions of Spider-Man were written like brothers instead of uneasy allies like the comics tend to do whenever Parker has to team up with an alternate universe Spider-Man.

NonPlayerC - 6/27/2025, 4:08 PM

"Look we can save a lot of money if we don't use them for more than 15 seconds of screen time, we can get it half off if they don't talk! ......have you thought about CGI!?"

Kurban - 6/27/2025, 4:13 PM

My hunch is probably the former CEO of Sony Pictures. Looking to maximize engagement but limit spending so they don’t have to pay Tobey and Andrew more money.

PantherKing - 6/27/2025, 4:18 PM

Either Pascal or Avi Arad

Android - 6/27/2025, 5:09 PM

@PantherKing - disagree avi is a showman who wants to market as much as possible and Pascal is the one who's running the show so if it was her it'd have been that,,much like the horrible 2016 Ghostbusters was hee.

bobevanz - 6/27/2025, 4:49 PM

I haven't watched this or Deadpool 3 since the steelbooks came out, they served their purpose to solely make money and pass the time. Other than the team ups, they're meaningless movies. At least some people enjoy it and they make money for the theaters

FrankenDad - 6/27/2025, 6:39 PM

@bobevanz - so you bought them?

ShimmyShimmyYA - 6/27/2025, 7:15 PM

@bobevanz - don’t think I’ve rewatched D3 but NWH is such a hard rewatch . Too many meta pauses for audience reaction baked into the money, it breaks the flow

TheVisionary25 - 6/27/2025, 4:50 PM

I’m glad he stood his ground because what we ended up with was much better imo…

By allowed the Peters to bond a bit with each other and help each other in small or big ways , it made the resolution more emotionally satisfying then them just showing up for a blink and you miss appearance essentially.

Their chemistry & dynamic elevated the film imo!!.

TheVisionary25 - 6/27/2025, 5:03 PM

Off topic:

@MarkJulian
@JoshWilding

Jacob Elordi , Harris Dickinson & Tom Holland being considered for Denis Villenueve’s Bond film.

https://variety.com/2025/film/news/amazon-james-bond-wants-tom-holland-jacob-elordi-1236442329/

TheFinestSmack - 6/27/2025, 5:06 PM

Great choice not to do that because "Spider-Man: No Way Home" significantly outperformed both "The Amazing Spider-Man" and "Spider-Man" (the first movie) at the box office. "No Way Home" grossed $1.92 billion worldwide, while "The Amazing Spider-Man" made $757.9 million and the original "Spider-Man" earned $825 million. This makes "No Way Home" the highest-grossing Spider-Man movie to date.
Here's a more detailed breakdown:
Spider-Man: No Way Home: $1.92 billion worldwide.
The Amazing Spider-Man: $757.9 million worldwide.
Spider-Man (2002): $825 million worldwide.

CHECK FOR YOURSELF WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

1stDalek - 6/27/2025, 5:13 PM

I don't think Maguire and Garfield would have signed on for that version of the movie.

TheVisionary25 - 6/27/2025, 5:14 PM

@1stDalek - yeah , would have likely have been cg replacements or stunt doubles with no speaking lines.

Android - 6/27/2025, 5:25 PM

@1stDalek - Tobey no , they'd probably have had a stunt actor who kept mask on and looped some old audio that fit the situation.
Garfield I think he'd do it just because he wants to show he can stlll be spider-man.

1stDalek - 6/27/2025, 5:47 PM

@TheVisionary25 - True, at most they'd reuse some casual lines from their movies so they say something.

@Android - Not sure he would get that in this take. It just ain't much if he swings by, says 2 lines and dips. It's just a quick paycheck and he's not hurting for cash.

dagenspear - 6/27/2025, 5:15 PM

Hey, Jon Watts made a creative decision with Spider-Man I like!

ThouBear8 - 6/27/2025, 6:10 PM

Well kudos to Watts, because that is exactly what makes this movie so wonderful. I actually thought they'd be in there more like cameos, & I was VERY pleasantly surprised at how big their rolls were.

The scene on the rooftop with the 3 Peters talking about life, death, love, loss, & responsibility is one of my favorite scenes the MCU has ever put out. Their chemistry & development pays off in a huge way in the climax of the movie.

Compare this to certain other projects where it does more or less boil down to cameos (looking at you, Multiverse of Madness), & you can see who made the right decision. Cameos are fine, but fleshed out characters with meaningful arcs are way better.

Mrtoke - 6/27/2025, 6:58 PM

I didn’t like it as much as I hoped I would but, damn. That version would’ve made at least $700M less than it did.

Please log in to post comments.

Don't have an account?
Please Register.

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME Director Jon Watts Reveals Version Of The Movie He "Absolutely Refused" To Make

In a new interview, Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts outlines one version of the movie that was pitched early on that he flat out refused to make... and it's easy to see why!

Andrew Garfield "Would Love" To Play SPIDER-MAN Again, But "It Would Have To Be Very Weird"

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: A New Friendship Is Born In First Clip From Universal's Live-Action Remake

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.