Over the next few weeks, Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures will move at full speed into the promotional tour for Spider-Man: No Way Home. Building on more than a year of teases that have made this movie arguably the most anticipated MCU outing since Avengers: Endgame, this threequel is already making its impact felt on Marvel Studios' expanding narrative.
Recent TV spots promoting the movie have reconfirmed just how strong No Way Home's villain game will be with new footage of Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus and a fresh look at Jaime Foxx's revamped Electro. This new footage combined with ever-persistent rumors regarding Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Men making their returns has anticipation for the film's release at a fever pitch.
When Maguire and Garfield were first rumored to be a part of Spider-Man: No Way Home nearly a year ago, reports also indicated that their love interests, played by Kirsten Dunst and Emma Stone, would join them for the ride. Unfortunately, these circumstances have now changed as No Way Home looms over the horizon.
No Dunst Or Stone in No Way Home
Scooper Daniel Richtman revealed on his Patreon account that Spider-Man: No Way Home will not feature either Kirsten Dunst as Mary-Jane Watson or Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy.
The rumor states that both actresses were supposed to reprise their roles before COVID-19 nixed the plan. However, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige still wants to bring both Dunst and Stone back for a future project.
No Way Home Rumors Proven False
Kirsten Dunst and Emma Stone's names both came up in rumors regarding Spider-Man: No Way Home shortly after news broke about Maguire and Garfield's inclusions as Spider-Man. However, this became complicated on various fronts not too long after the news first broke.
Stone was in the middle of a pregnancy through most of shooting for the MCU threequel, and she firmly denied reprising her Gwen Stacy in the movie about six months ago. Dunst also admitted that she wasn't going to be a part of No Way Home as well, although she expressed being open to coming back to a future MCU movie after playing Mary-Jane in all three of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movies.
With everything coming in No Way Home, it's unclear how big Dunst and Stone's roles would have been in a story that already features at least five villains and potentially four heroes (including three web-slingers) and more.
Taking into account that Feige seems to want to bring both actresses into the MCU in some form, fans will be keeping a close eye on the status for both Garfield and Maguire after No Way Home as well. It's becoming clear that this threequel may be just the start of a massive Spidey expansion, and there's a chance that plenty of other names could join the fray soon.
Spider-Man: No Way Home will release in theaters on December 17, 2021.
