Filmmaker Jon Watts has admitted that he was forced to change a key moment in Spider-Man: No Way Home after seeing fan art which predicted a key moment in the superhero film. "If that's exactly what everyone thinks we're going to do, we absolutely can't do that."
During a panel at the Mediterrane Film Festival, Watts explained how the introduction of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Parkers were changed due to fans predicting the moment.
In the original concept, older versions of Spider-Man were intended to arrive in a scene where Tom Holland’s Peter is mourning the death of his Aunt May. Because fans already predicted this meeting of Spider-Men, the writer/director had to make changes and keep fans on their toes.
How Reddit ruined Jon Watts intended Spiderman reveal
Speaking to Collider's Steve Weintraub, he explained that he had a vague idea as to when the other Parkers would join Holland’s superhero, but he was forced to change his plans when he discovered fans had already predicted the big moment.
“It always seemed like Peter's going to be sad because Aunt May has just died, and that the portals are going to open, and the two Spider-Men are going to step out."
On Reddit, Watts discovered that fans had made fan art of the moment he envisioned.
"It was on a rooftop. It was sad, two Doctor Strange portals were open, and two Spider-Men are stepping out. I was like, 'Well, we can't do that. If that's exactly what everyone thinks we're going to do, we absolutely can't do that.'"
Rather than Maguire and Garfield appearing on the rooftop and meeting Holland in his time of grief, they are accidentally summoned by Ned in his familt home. Watts admitted he didn’t like how fans could already guess his twist and wanted to play more with their expectations.
"I was like, 'Probably having the two Spider-Men appear at Ned's Filipino grandma's house in Queens. I don't think anyone was doing fan art of that on Reddit.'"
The scene saw the production fly in Mary Rivera, who plays Ned’s grandmother, to help misdirect the audience. Watts says placing her in the scene and changing the location felt like double-crossing the audience. “They're seeing everything that they were hoping that they would see in a way that they were never expecting they were going to."
The return of Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire was one of Marvel’s worst kept secrets. Despite the studio's best efforts to keep it under wraps, numerous leaks and fan theories meant most of us knew Holland wouldn’t be the only Spider-Man to appear in No Way Home. Watts knew that this wouldn’t be a shock to avid Marvel fans, which is why he wanted to make the scene something no one expected.
Tom Holland returns again in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is set for release in July 2026.
Stay tuned for more information about the upcoming Spider-Man movie!