Spider-Man: No Way Home writers on having Venom in the final battle

This article contains SPOILERS for Spider-Man: No Way Home!

In the weeks since the MCU epic Spider-Man: No Way Home hit theaters, Venom has become a big talking point, not because of his tiny post-credits role in the movie, but instead because of what could have been.

The action-packed final battle in Spider-Man: No Way Home featured Tom Holland’s web-slinger working alongside past Spider-Men Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man) and Tobey Maguire (Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy) to battle classic villains Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), Electro (Jamie Foxx), Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) and Lizard (Rhys Ifans). Despite him warping into this reality at the end of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Venom was notably absent… although screenwriters Erik Sommers and Chris McKenna toyed with the idea of including him.

“The first draft, we bit off more than we could chew,” Sommers recently told Variety. “Maybe some would argue that we still bit off more than we can chew.”

Perhaps one of the things they wanted to include was Venom in the final battle. While it didn’t happened, the writers confirmed that the possibility was “definitely discussed.”

Ultimately, Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock, aka Venom, only made a short cameo in the post-credits scene. Again, when you’re playing around with the multiverse, there’s bound to be confusion over continuity. For instance, if Doctor Strange’s spell was only meant to bring in those who knew Peter Parker was Spider-Man, why did Tom Hardy’s Venom show up at all?

“The idea is that the symbiote has knowledge of other universes, McKenna said. “Buried in his brain is some knowledge of that connection.” That’s either great writing or a clever way to cover up a plot hole.

Spider-Man: No Way Home cracks the box office top 10

We all love a good surprise, and seeing Tobey and Andrew walk through those portals would’ve been completely wild had the info not leaked months before. The spoilers definitely hindered some viewers’ enjoyment of the movie.

That said, Sommers sees a silver lining to it:

"We were so excited about these different surprises. And then, suddenly, it seems like people had decided [Andrew and Tobey were returning], so maybe some of these surprises wouldn’t be so surprising. That was concerning, but at the same time, the sheer level of speculation and interest was really exciting. That was such great fuel to keep going and give [fans] something that would delight them."

Indeed, the hype paid off big time. Spider-Man: No Way Home has crossed  $1 billion at the global box office, making it by far the most profitable movie since the pandemic began. It’s picked up nearly $610 million in the U.S. and Canada alone, making it the tenth highest-grossing movie of all time domestically.

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