How Spider-Man: No Way Home Protected Its Biggest Spoiler

Sony and Marvel Studios went to great extremes to protect Spider-Man: No Way Home’s biggest spoiler. Here’s everything they did to keep the surprise.

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Warning! SPOILERS for Spider-Man: No Way Home

Following countless rumors, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield did appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and here’s how the movie officially protected its biggest spoiler. Once it was revealed that Sony and Marvel’s third Spider-Man solo movie would involve the multiverse, it didn’t take long for speculation to grow that previous Spider-Man actors could return alongside Tom Holland. Spider-Man: No Way Home pulled off Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s returns and managed to keep the spoilers under wraps, at least officially.

Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire play prominent roles in Spider-Man: No Way Home. They enter the movie at the lowest point for Holland’s Spider-Man, as Ned Leeds uses Doctor Strange’s sling ring to find the two alternate versions of Peter Parker. They came to the Marvel Cinematic Universe due to Strange’s botched spell, just like the multiverse villains who knew Peter was Spider-Man. Both versions of the web-slinger help teach Holland’s Spider-Man some valuable lessons, share how they overcame various challenges and tragedies, and help fight their previous villains. In the end, Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man stopped Holland’s from killing Green Goblin, while Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man saved MJ as part of his emotional redemption for what happened to Gwen Stacy.

Despite the essential roles these former versions of Spider-Man play in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Sony and Marvel refused to confirm that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield were in the movie. This didn’t stop rumors and possible leaks regarding their returns from circulating online. However, the studios and those involved in Spider-Man: No Way Home went to great extremes to protect the film’s biggest spoiler.

Spider-Man: No Way Home’s Fake Trailers

Sony and Marvel’s misdirection included making altered or fake Spider-Man: No Way Home trailers. This is nothing new for MCU movies, including the Spider-Man reboot franchise. The trailers for Spider-Man: Homecoming included a shot of Spider-Man swinging alongside a flying Iron Man, but that scene wasn’t in the actual movie. For Spider-Man: No Way Home, there was plenty of speculation about different changes that could’ve been made. Many thought Doctor Octopus saying, “Hello Peter,” in No Way Home was going to be directed at Tobey Maguire instead of Tom Holland, but that wasn’t the case. Still, Spider-Man: No Way Home’s trailers included a few significant changes or clever cuts.

Most of the fake Spider-Man: No Way Home scenes came from the third act, where all three Spider-Men are fighting together. The greatest example of this is the shot from the trailers of Holland’s Spider-Man jumping into action to fight Electro, Sandman, and Lizard alone. A Brazilian version of this moment all but confirmed Sony and Marvel digitally removed Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield from the shot as Lizard’s head suddenly turns as if it was hit. Spider-Man: No Way Home’s ending indeed features Maguire and Garfield in this scene, as Garfield goes after Electro and Maguire attack Lizard.

There are other altered shots from the third act included in Spider-Man: No Way Home’s trailers. Holland’s Spider-Man landing on top of the Statue of Liberty only includes him, but the two other Spider-Men landed next to him in the actual movie. Meanwhile, the trailers cut before Green Goblin prevented Holland’s Peter from saving MJ, which led to Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man jumping into action. There was clearly a mandate not to show them in any marketing materials, as the other Spider-Men were also kept off all posters.

Lies, Damn Lies And Andrew Garfield’s Interviews

Beyond Spider-Man: No Way Home’s marketing going to great lengths to keep the spoiler a secret, everyone involved with the movie refused to confirm the news in interviews. Producers Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal wouldn’t specifically comment on whether or not Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield returned, as they broadly discussed how crazy rumors could become at times. The stars of Spider-Man: No Way Home played along with this narrative. Tom Holland said he had no idea if Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield would appear, saying it would be news to him if they appeared. The young MCU star even went to the extreme of saying he’d love to make a movie with the previous Spider-Man actors in the future but said it was unlikely they’d suit up together. Spider-Man: No Way Home proves that they’ve already worked together quite a bit in their Spider-Man suits.

The biggest liar of them all, though, was Andrew Garfield. This is not entirely his fault as he had to do press for The Eyes of Tammy Faye and Tick, Tick…BOOM! following the initial rumors of his Spider-Man return. He effectively couldn’t get out of an interview without being asked about whether or not he was in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Whether it was the strict non-disclosure agreement he signed or his desire not to spoil the surprise for viewers, Garfield lied for months about his return. He originally heavily denied his involvement and warned that audiences were setting themselves up for disappointment when he and Maguire didn’t appear. Garfield was fully aware nothing he said or did could convince audiences otherwise, but he followed through on the lies for the sake of protecting Spider-Man: No Way Home’s biggest spoiler.

Revealing The Multiverse Villains For No Way Home Was Genius

Instead of showing Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man: No Way Home’s marketing, the film leaned in on highlighting the multiverse villains instead. Doc Ock was shown at the very end of the first trailer, which also included a tease of Green Goblin’s return in Spider-Man: No Way Home. There were hints of Electro, Sandman, and Lizard appearing in Spider-Man: No Way Home from the beginning, but it wasn’t until the second trailer that they were officially shown. From that point on, they were plastered all over the marketing, as they got individual posters and were the focus of various TV spots.

The studios’ decision to reveal Spider-Man: No Way Home’s villains was ultimately a genius move. Although these foes have ties to the previous Spider-Men and could be used to connect their returns to the film, they largely were used to distract audiences. Unlike the heavily rumored Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield appearances, many of the villain actors previously confirmed their involvements, so it was not in the movie’s favor to hide them. According to Tom Holland, this was the plan initially, as Spider-Man: No Way Home would’ve been promoted around Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. At the end of the day, the villains helped protect Maguire and Garfield’s returns because they gave the marketing team something else to focus on.

Did Sony’s No Way Home Marketing Strategy Work?

Ultimately, Sony and Marvel’s Spider-Man: No Way Home marketing strategy worked incredibly well. Even with all the rumors that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield would appear, the decision to hide them from the marketing left some doubt over whether or not any of it was true. After all, the return of the two previous Spider-Man actors is a big deal. Most argued that it would make no sense for the studios to hide them because revealing them would generate significant excitement. Since they didn’t show Maguire and Garfield in Spider-Man: No Way Home’s trailers, all types of viewers could potentially still doubt the rumors, despite how prominent they became. Leaked images and videos could’ve been fake all along, while actor availability during a pandemic could have also disrupted plans for all three Spider-Men to appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Whether viewers were confident or unsure about Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield returning, not showing them in the marketing preserved the official reveal for the theater regardless. Videos showing excited audience reactions to seeing Spider-Man: No Way Home’s biggest spoiler prove precisely how much this moment meant to many. Making their returns a communal experience like this instead of part of a marketing campaign was the better decision. It is also quite possible that the secrecy and speculation surrounding their returns drove excitement to see the movie as soon as possible to avoid actual spoilers, which can partially help explain the film’s massive box office performance. All in all, it seems Sony went about hiding Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield from Spider-Man: No Way Home in a nearly perfect way.

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