SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME Writer On How The Pandemic Impacted A Major Death Scene - SPOILERS

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME Writer On How The Pandemic Impacted A Major Death Scene -  SPOILERS

During a new interview, Spider-Man: No Way Home co-writer Chris McKenna revealed the original plan for a certain character's big death scene before COVID restrictions forced them to make a few changes.

By MarkCassidy - Feb 01, 2022 11:02 AM EST
Filed Under: No Way Home

Spider-Man: No Way Home was an emotional film on several levels, but one moment, in particular, left a lasting impact on audiences while ensuring there wasn't a dry eye in the house (major spoilers ahead).

We, of course, talking about the death of May Parker (Marisa Tomei) at the hand of the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe).

This scene plays out in the final act of the movie, with the murder of Peter's (Tom Holland) beloved aunt/mother figure sending the character to a very dark place. We know May's tragic demise was planned from the start, but co-writer Chris McKenna has now revealed that the location of the sequence did change.

McKenna, who co-wrote the script with frequent collaborator Erik Sommers, appeared on the GoldDerby podcast, and revealed that COVID-19 significantly altered the setting of the devastating scene.

"It was also tricky production-wise, because we had different ideas for where the scene could take place, but because of Covid [we couldn't]," he said. "We had one idea that maybe it was going to be inside an ambulance, and we had a whole version that was constructed around that, but that was not practical for shooting during Covid. That's the kind of thing that happens. So then we had to move the scene, physically, to another place while trying to keep all the other elements working, and we had to make adjustments. That's the kind of thing that happens in production."

We have no idea if this change in setting also resulted in any new dialogue being written for the characters, but it's hard to imagine the scene playing out too differently just because May never made it into the ambulance.

How did you guys feel about Peter's Aunt May being killed-off? Drop us a comment down below.

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MosquitoFarmer
MosquitoFarmer - 2/1/2022, 11:13 AM
And then Peter emerges...

TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 2/1/2022, 11:15 AM
I liked aunt May the whole way and thought her subbing for uncle Ben was a good twist, change my mind. Actually you can’t I’ve already heard it.
Origame
Origame - 2/1/2022, 12:18 PM
@TheWalkingCuban - id say in concept it worked great. But in execution it really didn't work. The point of uncle Ben's death was that he died because Peter was irresponsible. But in this movie may died because Peter was doing what the movie claimed to be the most responsible decision. Had Peter simply listened to strange about reversing the spell and sending them back to die, then she would've lived. And Peter knew this, which is why he wanted to just press the button and send them back after.

He eventually got there, but it's one of those things where the simplicity is better.
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 2/1/2022, 12:28 PM
@Origame - But he eventually got there so for me the complexity is better.
Fogs
Fogs - 2/1/2022, 12:52 PM
@TheWalkingCuban - I gotta say I complained A LOT about uncle Ben's absence all the way.

Although I believe going canon would be more satisfying, May's demise filled the gap perfectly. I have no idea if this was an afterthought since the MCU spidey's begginnings or not (I believe it wasn't planned, given the exchange Peter has with Tony in Civil War) but it worked beautifully in the end.

She even said the catchphrase in a nice context, and when Tom's Peter mentions it to the others it's a beautiful moment.
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 2/1/2022, 12:55 PM
@Fogs - I didn’t complain and it paid off in spades so it must be even better from your perspective, And yes their initial meeting was a thing of beauty
mrbioshock1984
mrbioshock1984 - 2/1/2022, 1:16 PM
@Origame - like the Wayne's death it been done to death(no pun intended). Plus it was done so good in the Raimi's Spider-Man movie. Ben's death is necessary to the Spider-Man. The problem is.. he's not a character anymore. We count down to him getting gun down. Now his death happen in the MCU and Peter feel like crap about it. Plus add to May's death which better in my opinion because she was a character who last for a few movies. Not saying you're wrong or anything it's just my opinion. PS glad we're not seeing the Wayne's death lol
ShimmyShimmyYA
ShimmyShimmyYA - 2/1/2022, 1:27 PM
@Origame - except he didn’t do the responsible thing , he tried to rewrite reality instead of just talking to admissions lady which led to everything else
Origame
Origame - 2/1/2022, 2:12 PM
@TheWalkingCuban - idk. That really isn't a sign of good storytelling if you have to go through more hoops to get the same result.
Origame
Origame - 2/1/2022, 2:17 PM
@mrbioshock1984 - but the only real changes (outside of being may) were just the same but worse. Like, why bother trying if you admit you can't improve on it?

A better option would've been something like what happened in the lizard episode of spectacular Spiderman, where Peter considered removing his powers but saw a picture of uncle Ben, then moving on. Just something subtle like that where we remember the emotions of it while doing your own story.
Origame
Origame - 2/1/2022, 2:20 PM
@ShimmyShimmyYA - thats not what killed her though. Peter had already captured all the villains and strange was ready to send them home. It was the choice to cure them, which the movie makes clear is intended to be the responsible choice, that lead to them dying.
ShimmyShimmyYA
ShimmyShimmyYA - 2/1/2022, 2:24 PM
@Origame - I get your point but It was all set off by him asking to do the spell, hence why strange yelled at him after botching it, no spell no villains to redeem no goblin stabbing may with a glider
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 2/1/2022, 2:34 PM
@Origame - I honestly did not sit back and think about those hoops. I will next time I watch it
Origame
Origame - 2/1/2022, 2:50 PM
@ShimmyShimmyYA - first of all, he never actually asked for that spell. He wanted strange to use the time stone, and when strange reminded him the time stone was destroyed, Peter was about to leave. Strange was the one who brought up the spell, with the express purpose of using it for Peter in this regard, and without explaining the full implications of that spell before casting it. So if anything by that logic strange is the one responsible for killing may.

But if we're going to keep playing the back up game it was mysterio's fault for outing his identity in the first place, resulting in the need for the spell. It was Tony's fault because if he never gave Peter those glasses mysterio never would've targeted him.

The original was so much more straight forward. I let this criminal go, he killed someone I love. And it is directly tied to the notion of responsibility. He didn't do the right thing, despite his power, so someone died.

In this case, Peter was doing what he thought was the responsible choice, fixing things so his friends could get into MIT. At best its punishing Peter, crazy harshly mind you, for not knowing that admission letters can be challenged. Something many ADULTS don't know.
Origame
Origame - 2/1/2022, 2:52 PM
@TheWalkingCuban - FYI, I'm not trying to make this movie out to be worse for anyone. I really love this movie and feel it fixed many problems with mcu Spiderman. But I feel the praise should go to what it did right, as opposed to what really could've been improved.
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 2/1/2022, 3:03 PM
@Origame - heard, I lament the lack of a 6th villain. So close! But of course they knocked OT out of the park anyway
Origame
Origame - 2/1/2022, 3:16 PM
@TheWalkingCuban - oh yeah. I was like "come on" when they never revealed a sixth villain. But since all the previous movies were represented anyway, mysterio would've been too complicated to bring back, and there wasn't any plot significance of having vulture or venom there, it worked perfectly fine.
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 2/1/2022, 3:23 PM
@Origame - it did but it had the feel of “every release date flinched but Sony’s NWH”, honestly I think this is as good as whatever else we would have gotten. It’s a phenomenal movie
ShimmyShimmyYA
ShimmyShimmyYA - 2/1/2022, 3:37 PM
@Origame - yeah it’s Tony’s fault per usual actually lol.

But seriously I get what you mean , the movie just lays out the irresponsible decision being he’s trying to hard to do both things be Peter and be spider man , it is a shit thing though that he was expected to know you could appeal that I didn’t even know that until a year into college
Origame
Origame - 2/1/2022, 3:42 PM
@TheWalkingCuban - definitely
Origame
Origame - 2/1/2022, 3:47 PM
@ShimmyShimmyYA - I mean, it could've been handled better. Like, maybe have the spell be an artifact he tells Peter not to use, but he uses it. Then, it's peters fault and not strange for not telling him the basic details of the spell BEFORE casting it (also failing to mention once the spell starts it can't be stopped). How's Peter supposed to make the responsible decision if the expert on the subject is holding back simple details anyone would want to know beforehand?
TheLobster
TheLobster - 2/1/2022, 11:17 AM
I actually think it works much better as it is rather than in a hospital. That would have been pretty generic for a character death and lacked the punch that the final product had.
NGFB
NGFB - 2/1/2022, 11:22 AM
Very sad. She was too hot to kill off.
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 2/1/2022, 11:32 AM
@NGFB - is it just me or did they really tune down her sex appeal at the end? All she needed was a ponytail and paint on that jumpsuit or whatever it’s called
OmegaDaGrodd
OmegaDaGrodd - 2/1/2022, 11:36 AM
They referenced Spider-Man PS4 a few times in the movie so I'm glad they didn't do the 'Aunt May hospital death' thing since that would've taken me out of the movie a bit
AC1
AC1 - 2/1/2022, 11:57 AM
@OmegaDaGrodd - yeah I agree, it worked in the game because of the citywide pandemic plotline and May's illness played out over a much longer period of time which then made Peter's choice at the end a huge part of the tragedy behind her death, whereas the MCU version of May's death was much more sudden and unexpected which made it tragic in a completely different way rather than a straight rip off.

It's funny though, I've said since the game came out that it's my favourite adaptation of Spider-Man while my opinion of the MCU Spidey movies has always been that they're pretty good but not a lot beyond that, but I think the fact that NWH seems to take inspiration from the game (and pretty much every other modern Spidey adaptation) in all the right ways without ever making it feel forced or unoriginal is why this movie stands so much higher than the others for me, and is probably my favourite movie in the entire MCU.
OmegaDaGrodd
OmegaDaGrodd - 2/1/2022, 12:07 PM
@AC1 - I agree, I think NWH is a movie that feels like it loves all the different adaptations of the character in a way that normally ends up being distracting at best or detrimental at worst, but it threads that particular needle so well that it ends up feeling like something greater than itself while also being a great movie at it's core.
Ryos
Ryos - 2/1/2022, 12:38 PM
“Only death scene”
GameOn
GameOn - 2/1/2022, 12:51 PM
I wouldn’t consider May’s death as in the final act. It’s the peak of the second act probably but not the final act.
Fogs
Fogs - 2/1/2022, 12:54 PM
@GameOn - Yeah, totally. Classic low 2nd act moment.
Motherlicker
Motherlicker - 2/1/2022, 1:09 PM
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