While Spider-Man: No Way Home continues to dominate at the box office, breaking pandemic and non-pandemic records alike, new information about the film's more secretive elements is spilling out. With the big reveals of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's returns out of the way, the cast and crew are free to share details about these more exciting components of the film's production.
Spider-Man star (well, one of three) Tom Holland recently spoke out about the return of Spider-Men past, sharing how proud he was of the achievement.
This wave of fresh interviews has also shed light on a series of interesting tidbits, like a surprising influence on the Spider-Man film series, the dropped idea to power up Zendaya's MJ, and the absence of Oscorp from the MCU.
The film's writers have also come forward to share their experience working on Spider-Man: No Way Home. According to screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, both Maguire and Garfield had input on the script, helping to shape the ways their characters had changed since their last appearances.
McKenna and Sommers have also touched on the process of getting Maguire and Garfield involved, revealing when the two Spider-Men signed on.
When Did Maguire & Garfield Sign on Spider-Man: No Way Home?
According to a Hollywood Reporter interview with Spider-Man: No Way Home screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield were attached to the project by December of last year. However, they didn't receive script pages until the holidays, a complication considering that production had begun a few months earlier, in October.
McKenna spoke to the pressure of the writing process, noting that "At a certain point, we had to get them Act III."
That was amazing. [Then] knowing that we had to get pages to Tobey and Andrew. At a certain point, we had to get them Act III. We had to get those pages to them literally a year ago, we were holed up getting pages to them before Christmas of last year.
Mckenna also took time to praise the two actors, sharing how "they trusted everyone."
We have to get these pages to them. It was so great. They were on board, but they hadn’t seen anything. They knew the idea, they trusted everyone, but we were in the middle of the war of making the movie, changing so much, but also — we were heading toward shooting them, so they had to see pages and basically see, “OK, we know there has been a pandemic. We know this thing has gone through a million changes, we know it’s been really difficult.” Luckily they read the pages and they were like, “Oh, OK, yes! We can work with this.” (Laughs.
Maguire and Garfield Signed on Blind
This information is quite interesting, shedding light on Maguire and Garfield's early perspective on Spider-Man: No Way Home. The two actors were willing to sign on to the film before fully knowing their role in it, having not even seen pages. The duo also appeared to have faith in the folks at Marvel Studios, with the franchise's now 27-film run providing some compelling evidence.
This interview also shows the rocky state of Spider-Man: No Way Home's development. With shooting underway, the inclusion of the two returning Spider-Men was still up in the air, with Act III similarly unresolved. It makes sense that the unsettled nature of Maguire and Garfield's casting prevented the final act from coming together, but it is certainly telling that final casting decisions and script choices were being made well into the film's production.
Even though Maguire and Garfield signed on to the project largely blind, it was clearly a strong choice. Fans have shown support for their inclusion, propelling the film to the billion-dollar club. Additionally, widespread fan support and rumors from certain crew members seem to indicate that Garfield may return once more to the world of Spider-Man. So even if it appears that the actors were taking a leap of faith, it seems abundantly clear that their trust was well-placed.
PLAYSTATION Writer
