With Spider-Man: No Way Home swinging into theaters in a few short weeks, rumors that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield are reprising their roles as Spider-Man are stronger than ever. The second trailer hit the internet last week and got massive views and also featured more villains than the first trailer. We saw The Lizard, Sandman, Green Goblin, and Jamie Foxx’s Electro pop up alongside Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock.
With all these multiversal theories and confirmations swirling, here are some other characters from the Sam Raimi and Marc Webb Spider-Man films that we’d love to see enter the multiverse.
Mary Jane Watson (Raimi) – Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Dunst’s MJ was unique in that the Amazing Spider-Man franchise never had an official MJ and the MCU’s version is a twist on the character. In recent times, the only comic-similar Mary Jane we’ve had was in the Raimi movies. It would interesting to see how the actress/model version of the character would have fared alongside Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker.
Gwen Stacy (Raimi) – Bryce Dallas Howard
What happened to Gwen Stacy in the Raimi universe? Did she die? Did she become Spider-Gwen or a scientist or both? Either way, Bryce Dallas Howard has gone on to better things after playing the small role of Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man 3, having a lead role in Jurassic World and stepping behind the camera to direct a couple of episodes of The Mandalorian.
Mary Jane Watson (Webb) – Shailene Woodley
Shailene Woodley filmed some scenes for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as a new MJ, and those shots got scrapped for the final film. However, if the films are being brought into the MCU and they do not pick up exactly where the films left off, we could see an Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker finally interact with Woodley’s MJ.
Gwen Stacy (Webb) – Emma Stone
Say what you will about Webb’s Amazing Spider-Man films, but Emma Stone killed it as Gwen Stacy. She also got killed as Gwen Stacy, making her the first on this list to die. Seeing as Dr. Strange calls out people being killed by Spider-Man as a catalyst for them being in the MCU in the second trailer, it is not without reason that Emma Stone’s Gwen might make an appearance. But would she be her same self, or would she be Spider-Gwen?
Captain Stacy (Webb) – Denis Leary
Another death on this list, Denis Leary’s Captain Stacy died at the hands of The Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Man. A return appearance from him is doubtful, but the character was well developed enough that the filmmakers could have found a way to make it work. Maybe they’ll include a voice line or two to inspire Gwen.
Aunt May (Raimi) – Rosemary Harris
Armed with her umbrella, Raimi’s Aunt May was a powerful force to be reckoned with. In all seriousness, the actress is still working, albeit sporadically, at the age of 94. It would be pretty awesome to have her in No Way Home as an inspiration for Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man to save the day once again.
Uncle Ben (Webb) – Martin Sheen
Pretty much the only comic book character to not come back to life is Uncle Ben, with fears that it would undo Spider-Man’s “with great power comes great responsibility” mantra. Having former West Wing alum Martin Sheen come back for one last speech would be pretty inspiring for any Spider-Man.
Aunt May (Webb) – Sally Field
The second Aunt May on this list, it would be good to see Sally Field pop back up as the character. If Rosemary Harris came back as well, we could see three Aunt Mays in the same movie, which might be more exciting than seeing three versions of Spider-Man.
Felicia Hardy (Webb) – Felicity Jones
While she never donned the domino mask and fur outfit, Felicity Jones was cast as Felicia Hardy in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the alter ego of the famed burglar, villain, and on again-off again Spider-Man love interest Black Cat. Instead, the only role we saw her play was that of Harry Orsborn’s assistant. If she, like a few of the others on this list, was to be brought into the fold to get a true chance at playing the character again, it would surely shake things up for any of the webslingers.
Dr. Curt Connors (Raimi) – Dylan Baker
Dylan Baker played Dr. Curt Connors in Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3. He was set to reprise his role as the character in the canceled Spider-Man 4 and fully make his transformation into The Lizard. After all the character was already missing an arm setting up his desire to experiment with lizard DNA. To have Dylan Baker voice or do the motion capture for The Lizard would redeem his arc not being resolved at the end of Raimi’s films.
Harry Osborn (Raimi) – James Franco
Harry Orsborn, played by James Franco in the Sam Raimi films, was Peter Parker’s best friend. That is, until Harry thought that Peter/Spider-Man killed his father, Norman Osborn, aka the Green Goblin. Harry has a redemption arc in Spider-Man 3 and is killed off at the end of that film, putting the Osborn story away for good, at least in the Raimi films. But if Willem Dafoe is coming back for Spider-Man: No Way Home and reprising his role as Green Goblin, then Franco could feasibly return, too. Franco has found himself in hot water, however, as several allegations were recently leveled against him, so he might not be who most people want to see in the film. A small cameo couldn’t hurt, right?
Elizabeth Banks (Raimi) – Betty Brant
Betty Brant was J. Jonah Jameson’s assistant in the Sam Raimi films and was played by Elizabeth Banks. While Elizabeth Banks is still acting, she⏤like Bryce Dallas Howard⏤has also stepped behind the camera, opting to direct films like Charlie’s Angels and Pitch Perfect 2. If her schedule was free at the time of filming, it would be interesting to see her appear in No Way Home, hopefully with a promotion at the Daily Bugle and no longer under Jameson’s thumb.
Bruce Campbell (Raimi) – Mysterio
Bruce Campbell popped up in all three Raimi films as well as providing narration for all three tie-in video games. He was seemingly a different character in each film: a ring announcer in Spider-Man, an usher in Spider-Man 2, and a Maître d’ in Spider-Man 3. It was revealed that Bruce Campbell was set to play Quentin Beck, aka Mysterio in the canceled Spider-Man 4, and it would have been interesting to see him play the part. Would it have been revealed that Beck was moonlighting or if he was spying on Peter Parker, like Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio was doing in Spider-Man: Far From Home? Either way, it would be groovy to see him have a chance at the role.
J.K. Simmons (Raimi) – J. Jonah Jameson
I know he is in the MCU as J. Jonah Jameson, but it would be incredibly funny to see Raimi’s version of the character face-off against the MCU newsman. Two versions of J.K. Simmons yelling at each other about whose webhead is the biggest menace to New York City would be a great opportunity for some comedy in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
There you have it, a whopping fourteen characters we want to see in Spider-Man: No Way Home when it swings into theaters on Dec. 17. Have we missed any you would like to see in the film? If so, make sure to let us know in a comment below!