**Spoilers for ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ incoming…**
**Seriously, if you haven’t seen the film, don’t let us spoil it for you…**
**You’ve been warned…**
Sony and Marvel Studios did about as well as they could to ensure fans were surprised when they witnessed the third act of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and the re-introduction of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield into the franchise. When you see how fans and most critics have reacted to the team-up of the Spider-Men, then you get the feeling that the filmmakers responsible for ‘No Way Home’ were able to thread the needle of providing what fans wanted but also making it relevant and a core element of the story. And according to the writers of the film, Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, those two actors helped shape the most crucial aspects of the film.
Speaking to THR, McKenna and Sommers talked about “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and specifically how Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield brought so much to the film. This was especially the case when it came to the emotional core of the final act, where Tom Holland’s younger Peter needed guidance from his two older multiversal selves.
“They had great ideas that really elevated everything we were going for and added layers and an arc and we really actually started honing into the idea that these two guys were really helping Tom’s Peter on his journey to becoming who he ends up becoming,” said McKenna. “There’s a crucial, moral moment that they help him get through in the climax of the movie. So much of that was brought by Tobey and Andrew’s ideas and shaping of what they thought their characters could bring to this story.”
Another interesting aspect of seeing Maguire and Garfield reprise their Spider-Man roles is how they have grown from their previous films. Instead of going with the de-aging technique to make them all much younger, ‘No Way Home’ allowed them to be at different points in their lives. And both Maguire and Garfield had strong ideas about how much of those untold stories would be revealed in the new film.
“Tobey wanted to be very minimal about how much you know,” revealed McKenna. “Very, very minimal. Andrew really loved the idea of he’s still tortured over what happened in ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2’ and where that left him, and how they could bring that to Tom.”
He added, “Tobey especially has come through that darkness. We thought it was cool that Andrew’s Peter was still in the midst of that darkness. They weren’t just here to go, ‘Two awesome Jedi knight heroes who show up and are going to help you take down the bad guys.’ They are going through their own things. We were trying to write up to the characters that they did such a great job of creating and really being true to those characters and those stories and those worlds so that it didn’t feel like we were doing curtain call, fan-service.”
Of course, when you bring up the fact that Maguire and Garfield returned, combined with the fact that the villains of the previous franchises also came back in a big way, critics of ‘No Way Home’ were quick to throw out that fan-service claim. And sure, you could definitely see it that way. However, when it comes to the creation of the film, the writers seem to have come to it in a natural way to help it feel less like fan-service and more like a tribute. And it seems to have worked, as many fans are already hoping to see Maguire and Garfield return for more films.
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” is in theaters now.