Spider-Man writers reveal "big" Marvel characters were cut from No Way Home

Spider-Man: No Way Home
(Image credit: Sony/Marvel)

Spider-Man: No Way Home may have been bursting with big Marvel characters (spoilers ahead if you still don't know who they are…), but there were some other major names that didn't make the final cut, according to the movie's screenwriters.

"I don’t know if we’re allowed to, honestly, but there were big characters," co-screenwriter Chris McKenna told Yahoo!. "But almost too big, because it always became a balancing act of how do we tell not only a story with all these awesome villains that we know we want to bring into this movie, the classic ones, but also how do we make this still a Tom Holland/Peter Parker story so that he’s not completely overshadowed? 

"Because at the end of the day, it’s not going to be a great Spider-Man movie if you’re not telling an emotional Peter Parker story. We had these riches that we had to… This giant idea [with] all these great actors, but also we had to tell a story that felt like we were telling a personal story for our main character."

No Way Home certainly isn't lacking in important characters from the Marvel and Sony superhero universes – it features five villains (Electro, Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Lizard, and Sandman) and three versions of Spider-Man, plus Doctor Strange and a Daredevil cameo. That's probably enough for one movie.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is in theaters now. If you're already up to date with the web-slinger's adventures, check out our list of the upcoming movies to get excited about this year.

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. 

Read more
Sony reportedly could have used Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in its Spider-Man Universe movies all along, but wanted to focus on the villains instead
Spider-Man in the Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man finale
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man showrunner reveals the characters Marvel wouldn't let him use, including one of comics' most bizarre villains
Harrison Ford as the Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World
“The reveal was a big mistake”: MCU fans pick the twists they wish Marvel movie trailers didn’t spoil beforehand
Anthony Mackie and Giancarlo Esposito in Captain America: Brave New World
Captain America: Brave New World director reveals why a more comic book accurate version of villains Sidewinder and the Serpent Society were cut
Anthony Mackie in Captain America 4
Captain America: Brave New World merchandise reveals cut characters and a wildly different look for The Leader – and Marvel fans are wondering what happened
Charlie Cox in Daredevil
Daredevil star Charlie Cox says Andrew Garfield didn't realize he was in Spider-Man: No Way Home: "You're not in my script"
Latest in Superhero Movies
The cast of Thunderbolts
Marvel fans are revealing who they'd like to see added to the Thunderbolts lineup, from Moon Knight to a major Hulk villain
Batman and Catwoman talking
Robert Pattinson is hoping to team up with his The Batman co-star Zoe Kravitz on another project soon
The cast of Thunderbolts
Thunderbolts director says the new Marvel movie is inspired by Toy Story 3: "Can they get out of the trash can together?"
Robert Downey Jr announces his Doctor Doom casting at San Diego Comic-Con 2024
"He is so dialed in": Robert Downey Jr. is coming up with backstory and costume ideas for Doctor Doom ahead of Avengers: Doomsday
Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne in The Batman
Robert Pattinson worries he will be a "f*cking old Batman" by the time filming on The Batman 2 finally starts
Lewis Pullman as "Bob" in Thunderbolts
The first look at Thunderbolts' Sentry suit seemingly leaked in new Marvel merchandise
Latest in News
Rise of the Ronin's photo mode offers some wonderful shots
On the heels of Rise of the Ronin's PC launch, its director says there's a "significant" amount of Japanese Switch gamers: "I am closely watching how this will change with the release of Switch 2"
Stardew Valley Castle Village mod
Stardew Valley Expanded creator is building an "even more ambitious" mod with a whole new city and "dungeons inspired by The Legend of Zelda"
Dino Crisis 2 art showing a young woman and man back-to-back amid tall green grass, both with their weapons drawn
Dino Crisis gets a fresh trademark filing by Capcom, but it might not mean the 26-year-old survival horror franchise will get a new installment like fans expect
Cujo
Netflix is making a brand new adaptation of Cujo, the infamous Stephen King book about a killer dog
Dragon Age 2
Veteran Dragon Age dev says one big delay is better than several small ones: "You are laying band-aid on top of band-aid on top of band-aid"
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Dark Souls 2 fans remind Death Stranding 2 director Hideo Kojima that he won’t be taking the DS2 acronym that easily