Reddit Fan Art Forced Last-Minute Change to Tobey and Andrew’s Big Reveal in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’

When Spider-Man: No Way Home was still being made, Marvel had one of its biggest secrets to keep—Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield were coming back as their versions of Spider-Man.

Fans had been guessing it for months, with theories and leaks flying around the internet, especially on Reddit. But nothing was ever confirmed before the movie hit theaters. Marvel made sure not to show Tobey or Andrew in any trailer, promo, or poster.

Now, director Jon Watts has revealed that a Reddit post actually changed how those two characters were introduced in the movie. During a panel at the Mediterrane Film Festival, hosted by Collider’s Steve Weintraub, Watts explained what happened behind the scenes.

He said that the pandemic helped them keep things quiet because everything was shot on closed stages and the world was still pretty locked down. “It was in the middle of the pandemic. So it was actually much easier to keep things a secret because we couldn’t really leave the stage… The world was so isolated,” Watts said.

But even with all that isolation, leaks were still something they worried about. And while they were still figuring out the best way to reveal Tobey and Andrew’s Spider-Men, Watts went online and saw something that made him rethink the plan.

“I was on Reddit, and I was looking at people who had already made fan art of, ‘This is probably what it’s going to be like,’” he said. One post showed a sad Peter Parker on a rooftop after Aunt May’s death, with two portals opening up behind him, and Tobey and Andrew 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.’”

That Reddit fan art changed everything. Watts didn’t want the movie to feel predictable or like it was just giving fans what they already imagined. So instead of doing a big dramatic rooftop moment, he flipped the script. He had Tobey and Andrew show up inside Ned’s grandma’s apartment. It was simple, funny, and totally unexpected.

“What does no one expect that we’re going to do? What’s something that no one’s going to see coming?” Watts said. “Probably having the two Spider-Men appear at Ned’s Filipino grandma’s house in Queens.”

That scene worked because it came from MJ and Ned trying to figure out what to do next. It wasn’t about Peter anymore at that moment.

And as random as it was, it still made sense. Watts also mentioned that the woman who played Ned’s grandma wasn’t even an actress. “It was the middle of the pandemic, so we had to find a lady and fly her from Hawaii to Atlanta,” he said.

Watts said the whole thing reminded him of an old quote from silent film legend Buster Keaton: “I like the audience to think that they’ve outguessed me, and then I double-cross them.”

So instead of giving fans exactly what they expected, Watts gave them something better. It was funny, heartfelt, and totally original.

In the end, Spider-Man: No Way Home became a massive success, making $1.9 billion worldwide. Fans loved seeing all three Spider-Men together, but what made it really work was how thoughtful their return was.

Watts didn’t just want a cool moment. He wanted the three characters to grow together, to mean something to each other—and to the audience.

“I absolutely refuse to make that,” Watts said, referring to a simple cameo. He didn’t want Tobey and Andrew to just pop in and wave. He wanted them to matter. And thanks to a little help from Reddit, the movie turned out even better.

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