Spider-Man: No Way Home has entered the conversation as one of the biggest films of all time, and fans are continuing to rave about the experience. Tom Holland’s latest adventure introduced the Multiverse to a wider audience thanks to Doctor Strange’s botched spell. With it came the return of Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock, Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin, and Jamie Foxx’s Electro. Of course, it also saw the return of both Tobey Maguire and Garfield as their respective Peter Parker.
As exciting as Maguire’s return was, it was Garfield’s who garnered one of the most explosive reactions in theaters. While Spider-Man 3 wasn’t meant to be the last of Raimi’s film, it still gave that Peter a natural ending; The Amazing-Spider-Man 2 did not offer the same privilege to its leading character.
The last time fans saw that Peter Parker, Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy had died, and the hero wasn’t taking it well. So not only was he at his lowest point, but he also never got to smack Rhino in the face with a pothole cover.
In both of Garfield’s movies, Gwen has been central to his Spider-Man. This continued when he stepped through a portal into the MCU; that loss helped him aid Tom Holland in his time of need. In the movie’s final act, Peter 3 got his moment of redemption: he was able to catch Zendaya’s MJ—a moment that visually hit the character hard.
At one point, producers for No Way Home discussed the possibility of bringing Emma Stone back. Given how much her loss drives Garfield’s character, would the actor behind the mask think about that?
What If Gwen Returned?
In an interview with Variety, Andrew Garfield finally broke the silence about his return in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The interviewer asked the actor what his thoughts were on how Kirsten Dunst and Emma Stone's returns were scrapped after once being considered by the writers, and if that’s something he would have liked to see for his Peter and Gwen.
Garfield was quick to say that “it’s too big,” but that the “image of my catching MJ… kind of sold me on the whole thing:”
“Oh my god, I don’t even know where to start with that. It’s too big. Gwen had agency. In our film, on her final day, she shows up. I tried to restrain her from showing up to that scene with Electro [Jamie Foxx]. I knew that it was too dangerous, but she chose to be there. She had a hand in her own destiny in that way, and the movie is about fate. I will say the image of my catching [Zendaya’s] MJ — that was really beautiful and it kind of sold me on the whole thing.”
No Way Gwen and Peter Reunited
Garfield is definitely correct. If Emma Stone’s Gwen returned in any way, given the intense emotional weight behind the two of them, it would have been way too much to squeeze into No Way Home—especially since it wasn’t Peter 3’s story.
If this version of Gwen were ever to return, the best place for it would have been a post-credits scene. Spider-Gwen is all the rage, as is the Multiverse, so a tag setting up that storyline would have caused audiences to erupt with excitement worldwide.
All hope isn’t lost in that regard, however. Not only is Sony rumored to be actively talking about a Spider-Gwen project, but fans have been loudly clamoring for Andrew Garfield to return as Spider-Man in any way possible.
Given Garfield’s excitement for the role still going strong, odds may be stronger than most realize. Until then, fans will have to give his performance in No Way Home another watch.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is playing in theaters worldwide.
