When comic book characters get rebooted, it usually means the past iteration(s) of those superheroes are no more. When Christian Bale took on the role of Batman, his debut film got another telling of the same origin story as Michael Keaton's caped crusader. As superheroes' stories are told again with new actors, the past franchises are usually put to rest.
But not always.
As seen with the popular Spider-Verse comic storyline , Peter Parker possesses the unique ability to hop across dimensions, uniting his wall-crawler with different generations of Spider-Men. This storyline was adapted in the Oscar-winning animated picture Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse , which saw Miles Morales team up with Spider-Woman, Spider-Man Noir, and Spider-Ham to save the multiverse. While the crossover of different animated web-slingers was truly epic, it got fans theorizing about a potential crossover so ambitious it would make Avengers: Endgame shake.
NEWS
It almost happened. While answering fan questions during ComicBook's #QuarantineWatchParty, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse producer Chris Miller confirmed an early plan to include cameos from Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire in an "ambitious tag."
WHAT THIS MEANS
While this crossover has been desired by fans for years, Miller's tweet represents the first public confirmation that it has been discussed behind the scenes. Yes, this scene was turned down for Spider-Verse, but the reasoning should get fans ecstatic for the future.
The Sony executives calling the pitch "too soon" means that a crossover between the three generations of Peter Parker is something they want to eventually happen. Getting critically-acclaimed actors like Garfield and Maguire to return to the role of Spider-Man might take some effort, so Sony would want to save for the most worthwhile payoff possible.
Beyond that, if Sony is planning for the three actors to share the screen one day, would they really want the first time to come in an animated end-credit scene? It's no secret that Spider-Verse is immensely popular, but the drawing power of Maguire, Garfield, and Holland physically united in live-action is a lot more appealing than just their voices.
Furthermore, the end-credits scene fans did get in Spider-Verse was a comedic take on the pointing cartoon Spidey meme , and while it proved to be a hilarious tag, it was no more than a throwaway segment.
Sony knows a crossover between the different Peter Parkers has potential to go down as one of the most memorable scenes in comic book movie history, and they likely want to meticulously plan for if/when it happens. As a wise man once said, with great power comes great responsibility.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 's sequel is set to hit theatres in October 2022, while Tom Holland's live-action Spider-Man will swing back into theatres on November 5, 2021.
MCU Writer, Editor, Podcaster
