Sony’s Oscar-winning animated feature Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was packed with fan-friendly cameos and nods to the larger Marvel Comics universe, but it almost featured a massive Spider-Man movie crossover, too.
According to Spider-Verse co-producer Christopher Miller, the film’s creative team initially pitched studio Sony Pictures Animation on bringing together live-action Spider-Man actors Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire for a post-credits scene.
Miller confirmed that the crossover was pitched to Sony during a Twitter-based “watch party” for Into the Spider-Verse hosted by ComicBook.com. According to Miller, the idea was shot down because the studio felt it was “too soon.”
We pitched the Sony brass an ambitious tag involving Spider-Ham, Tobey, Andrew, and Tom. They felt it was “too soon” #SpiderVerse #QuarantineWatchParty https://t.co/E91H1eLysr
— Christopher Miller (@chrizmillr) May 7, 2020
Rumors regarding a potential cameo for Holland, the current live-action Spider-Man actor, had circulated well before Into the Spider-Verse hit theaters, with Holland himself confirming that such a scene was considered , then cut after Sony decided it might confuse audiences.
However, the scene Miller described would have put Holland (the Spider-Man of the Marvel Cinematic Universe) on the same screen with original Spider-Man movie franchise actor Tobey Maguire and The Amazing Spider-Man franchise lead Andrew Garfield. Whether they would have appeared as animated versions of themselves or in their live-action roles remains unknown, but one thing is certain: It would have been an impressive moment for Spider-Man fans.
In the end, Sony decided to use the film’s post-credits scene to introduce another version of Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, with Star Wars actor Oscar Isaac voicing the future-version of the web-slinging hero.
Sony is already working on a sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse that’s scheduled to hit theaters in 2022, so there’s still a chance that the live-action Spider-Man actors could get their crossover moment.
