Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures are currently enjoying a place atop the entertainment industry thanks to the worldwide theatrical release of Spider-Man: No Way Home. The MCU's 27th movie is making headlines from all angles, already standing as one of the highest-rated movies in recent memory while breaking records regularly at the box office.
With this being the MCU's first movie to fully explore and utilize the possibilities of the Multiverse, No Way Home took a golden opportunity to pay tribute to Spidey's extensive live-action history with its massive cast. Featuring classic villains like Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus and Jamie Foxx's Electro was just the start, and it all led up to the big reveals of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's returns as their respective web-slingers.
Even for all the characters that made their presences felt in No Way Home, there were rumors floating for most of the year about other exciting additions to the story. As it turns out, this was part of the challenge for the threequel's screenwriters, who recently shared some scrapped ideas for other action that was on the table during the development process.
Spider-Man Screenwriters on Venom's Scrapped Story
Variety spoke with Spider-Man: No Way Home screenwriters Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna about the massive number of characters featured in the MCU's fourth movie of 2021.
Sommers admitted that early versions of the script featured more heroes and villains than the movie may have been able to handle, although this was nearly the case with the final cut as well:
“The first draft, we bit off more than we could chew. Maybe some would argue that we still bit off more than we can chew."
The screenwriters confirmed that Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote appearing in the final battle with the three Spider-Men and the Fearsome Five was "definitely discussed." This also came with the revelation that No Way Home director Jon Watts actually directed the post-credits scene in Venom: Let There Be Carnage that placed Venom in the MCU.
Ultimately, Brock and Venom only appeared in the Watts-directed post-credits scene.
Venom's Unrealized Role in Final Spider-Man Battle
After Venom: Let There Be Carnage released in October, anticipation quickly built to see what the results of its blockbuster mid-credits scene would be within the MCU. That scene saw Eddie Brock and Venom find their way into Marvel's universe, complete with J. Jonah Jameson's broadcast revealing Spider-Man's identity on the TV, and it set up the exciting possibility that the anti-hero and web-slinger would meet and merge their stories together.
In the end, No Way Home's final battle solely focused on the trio of Spider-Men from in and out of the MCU going toe-to-toe with the movie's handful of villains at the revamped Statue of Liberty. Fans then saw Eddie and Venom sitting in a Mexican bar learning some classic MCU history before being sucked back into their own universe, although part of the Venom symbiote stayed behind on the bar.
How the movie would have worked Venom and Eddie into the movie's final battle is a mystery, especially since it would've brought a new twist alongside the Spider-Man trio. It appears that the screenwriters simply felt that this was more than the final battle could have handled, although there are still plenty of opportunities to bring Venom in for a true role in the MCU's Spider-Man legacy.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is now playing in theaters worldwide.
