Marvel’s Original MCU Plan For Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man Revealed

Written by Edwin Francisco

Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man could’ve ended up in the MCU over a decade ago.

In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield lifted the franchise to billion-dollar heights.

However, Marvel Studios originally tried to snag Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man in 2007.

In fact, Tobey Maguire could have met the Hulk (Edward Norton).

Well, maybe.

If Sony didn’t reject the crossover, certainly anything is possible. Sony owned the cinematic rights to Spider-Man. Furthermore, they refused to share him back then.

Marvel’s Original MCU Plan For Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man Revealed

Marvel Studios, Tobey Maguire, Spider-Man, MCU, Hulk

Image: Universal

In an interview with MTV’s Shawn Adler, The Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier revealed that he wanted Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker to have a cameo in the movie. Tobey Maguire would’ve walked the halls of Columbia University and as Bruce Banner (Norton) met Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson).

Granted, the scene was short. However, Marvel Studios would’ve thrown Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man franchise into the MCU. Keep in mind this was a year before Iron Man rocketed into theaters.

In other words, the MCU hadn’t hatched yet.

After Sony released Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man 3, director Sam Raimi started pre-production on the fourth installment.

Nobody knew what a huge success Iron Man would become.

On the other hand, Sony earned $849.9 million from Spider-Man 3. Furthermore, Spider-Man 3 was the third highest-grossing film in 2007. In addition, Spider-Man 3 was just below Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.

This was an age where Marvel still had to prove to the world that they can make movies. This was a time when movies rarely had a connected universe.

Marvel’s Original MCU Plan For Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man Revealed

Marvel Studios, Tobey Maguire, Spider-Man, MCU, Hulk

Image: Sony Pictures

Leterrier tried his best to make any form of connection work. Okay, so no Spider-Man. How about a mention of a Spider-Man villain? No? How about using the same school? Neither worked for Sony.

Actually, Sony didn’t want any of it.

As a comic-book fan, Leterrier was disappointed with not making this work. Sony didn’t want Spider-Man and his amazing friends to be in any part of the MCU.

2016’s Captain America: Civil War accomplished what Leterrier always wanted for Spider-Man to happen. Leterrier tried to make Spider-Man meet heroes in the MCU. Now Spider-Man: No Way Home successfully crossed over three generations of Spider-Men: Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland. It’s an incredible time to be a Marvel fan.

Indeed, great things happen in their own good time.