For many Spider-Fans watching the first Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse trailer, something seemed familiar. Spider-Man was seen kissing Mary Jane upside-down. Then, he was shown trying to stop a train with his webs. Both of these short scenes reeked of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2. And in a movie that promised to tie different Spider-Universes together, could this mean that Jake Johnson’s Peter Parker could be the same one once played by Tobey Maguire?
To those who still revere the Sam Raimi films, it was an exciting prospect. But it turns out this isn’t the case. Jake Johnson’s Spider-Man is from another parallel universe. But did the directors of Into The Spider-Verse consider bringing in Maguire?
“There was. There were many thoughts about where we could put Tobey Maguire and others,” said one of the film’s directors, Rodney Rothman in an interview with ScreenCrush, “I think after this film, those thoughts might have a little more traction.”
He added, “But before this movie, and introducing the idea of the ‘Spider-Verse’ to the audience, I think everybody was afraid that it would just really confuse people. But wow, it would have been fun.”
Indeed, perhaps Rothman is right. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse should be able to stand alone in its own right, especially since its the first of potentially a new movie series (rumors of a sequel are spreading as well as a Spider-Gwen spin-off). But given the unlimited possibilities of the Spider-Verse, it would be cool to see Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parkers pop up in sequels.
Hopefully, the film does well enough to prompt sequels. Right now, Box Office projections are eyeing a $30-40 million gross on the film’s opening weekend. The movie has so far garnered almost universal critical acclaim from reviewers, scoring a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
