Tom Holland’s Spider-Man was at one point going to appear in Madame Web, and I believe the Marvel Cinematic Universe star’s presence could have helped save the Sony’s Spider-Man Universe movie from becoming the box office bomb it ended up being. According to Box Office Mojo, Madame Web‘s global box office stands at just $100.5 million. That is not only the second worst in the SSU, only ranking better than Kraven the Hunter‘s $62 million, but the amount does not even come near to a single one of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man movies in the MCU.
While I never expected the SSU film to make nearly what a huge character like Spider-Man does at the box office, I’m convinced that had Madame Web been allowed to stay true to its original vision, the movie might have had a sH๏τ at becoming a hit. Recently, Dakota Johnson addressed how Madame Web was changed by executives, saying, “It started out as something and turned into something else.” While the actress never explained the changes, we now know how Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and the MCU could have played a role, and it might have saved Madame Web.
Madame Web Concept Art Confirms Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Almost Appeared
The SSU Movie Would Have Been Extremely Different
While a version of Peter Parker is in Madame Web in a way, it was not one of those fans who would have bought a ticket to go see. Spider-Man: No Way Home is the biggest indicator that, even in the 2020s, fans will still flock to theaters to watch all movie versions of Spider-Man, with Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland’s Spider-Men remaining box office draws. While Maguire would not have made much sense for Madame Web, there were rumors that Garfield’s Spider-Man could have joined the SSU as its Peter Parker, which I think would have fit.
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Sadly, that never happened. Another thing that never happened was Madame Web‘s inclusion of the Spider-Man the movie wanted to use. Madame Web concept artist Sebastian Meyer (via @SpiderMan_Newz/Twitter) revealed that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man was originally going to appear in the movie and fight Madame Web‘s main villain, Tahar Rahim’s Ezekiel Sims. The MCU’s Spider-Man, or a version of Holland’s Marvel character, fights Ezekiel in the sky and falls on top of a building in the concept art of the scrapped Madame Web sequence. Sadly, that never came to pᴀss, which also made Sims underwhelming.
Scrapped Madame Web Popcorn Bucket Was Filled With MCU Easter Eggs
Sony Seemingly Tried To Connect The SSU And The MCU Multiple Times
The Madame Web concept art never stated that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man was the one in question, but the hero’s suit was clearly the one — or a very close replica — of that of the MCU’s Spider-Man. However, a recent development about the movie helped confirm that Holland’s Spider-Man would have shown up in Madame Web after all, and it is all due to a popcorn bucket. For the past couple of years, Hollywood has been in a frenzy about movie-themed popcorn buckets. Now, it turns out that a scrapped concept for the SSU movie would have shaken things up.
As can be seen on Reddit, shared by user KevinPigaChu, a scrapped Madame Web popcorn bucket would have included quite a few references to the MCU. Besides The Daily Bugle’s connection to Spider-Man, the MCU-specific connections include Dave Bautista’s Drax wearing a suit, a story about Stark Industries facing a scandal, and more. Based on the Spider-Man concept art, the MCU connections on the scrapped popcorn bucket, and Dakota Johnson’s recent comments about the changes Madame Web went through, it sounds like the original version of the movie was much more exciting and tied it to the MCU.
Madame Web’s Use Of Spider-Man Was Frustrating
A Version Of Peter Parker Was In The Movie After All
After learning about all of that, Madame Web‘s use of Spider-Man becomes even more frustrating. While Tom Holland’s Spider-Man does not appear, nor do Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parkers, the SSU’s version of the hero is in the movie — though not yet born. That is because Emma Roberts’ Mary Parker is pregnant throughout the film. Based on her name and how she was the sister of Adam Scott’s Ben Parker, aka the famous Uncle Ben, her son is destined to become Spider-Man. For better or worse, Madame Web was well aware of it.
The movie kept making cryptic teases that Peter Parker was the baby in question, even going so as to cut Roberts’ character short of saying his name in a dramatic moment. It felt like the SSU was not allowed to use Spider-Man, rather than Madame Web making a story decision to build up to a possible future with that iteration of the character and keep the focus on Johnson’s Cᴀssandra Webb and the other future Spider-Women. I loved Scott’s Ben Parker, but I couldn’t help but be disappointed about how the movie danced around Peter’s inclusion.
How Madame Web Using Spider-Man Could Have Saved The SSU Movie
Madame Web Needed All The Help It Could Get
What makes Madame Web‘s use of Spider-Man — or rather the lack of it — more frustrating is the fact that it could have been the one thing that could have saved the movie. The lowest-grossing live-action Spider-Man movie was Andrew Garfield’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which still had a very solid box office, finishing its worldwide run with $709.7 million. That means that had Tom Holland’s Spider-Man appeared in Madame Web, even if the actor only played a role in the movie’s third act or the final battle against Ezekiel Sims, the movie would have succeeded.
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That is the way to look at it from a financial standpoint. However, Madame Web‘s inclusion of Spider-Man might have made the movie better from a story perspective, too. One of my biggest problems with the film is how it teases a better movie in the form of a sequel at the end, when Cᴀssandra Webb shows a glimpse of the future where Sydney Sweeney’s Julia Cornwall and the other girls have gotten powers and become Spider-Women. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man appearing in the film could have led to that being the plot of the film from the start.
Had Tom Holland’s Spider-Man appeared in Madame Web, it would have made the project the only movie in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe to have actually used the character whose name is in the franchise’s тιтle.
Seeing Spider-Man interacting with Madame Web‘s cast and teaching the girls and even Cᴀssie how to be a hero would have been way more entertaining than the movie we got from the SSU. Had Tom Holland’s Spider-Man appeared in Madame Web, it would have made the project the only movie in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe to have actually used the character whose name is in the franchise’s тιтle. That would have further helped Madame Web stand out and perform better at the box office. Sadly, Spider-Man‘s inclusion never came to pᴀss, so the SSU movie became a box office bomb.
All Announced Upcoming MCU Movies
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Thunderbolts*
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May 2, 2025
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The Fantastic Four: First Steps
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July 25, 2025
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Avengers: Doomsday
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December 18, 2026
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Spider-Man: Brand New Day
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July 31, 2026
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Avengers: Secret Wars
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December 17, 2027
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