A new TV spot for Spider-Man: No Way Home is currently airing, giving us a quick overview of scenes from the two awesome trailers. Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin, Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock, and Jamie Foxx’s Electro are prominently featured, along with an explanation of how the multiverse has begun to fall apart after Doctor Strange’s spell has unforeseen consequences.
But eagle-eyed fans have noticed that there’s a difference between this TV spot and the recent second trailer. In the trailer, we saw a scene featuring Doctor Strange saying “They’re starting to come through, and I can’t stop them!” against a nighttime backdrop. But in this ad, the same scene appears to take place at sunset.
The alteration is odd, particularly as the two promos came out in proximity to one another. Right now, it’s unknown which variation of the scene will be in the final movie, though I’m betting the TV spot uses more footage that’s been locked in for the final cut.
But perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised: Marvel Studios has form for tweaking weather and scenery after principal photography has finished. The most famous example may be Odin’s death in Thor: Ragnarok. This was supposed to happen in New York City but was transplanted to a Norwegian cliff relatively late in production after Taika Waititi felt the original setting didn’t work.
This change isn’t quite as dramatic, but we should always bear in mind that promo material often contains shots that don’t make it into the movie. There’s already compelling evidence that the No Way Home trailers have been edited so as not to spoil the surprise of returning Spideys, so any future ads will be closely scrutinized to see if further alterations have been made.
Spider-Man: No Way Home hits theaters on December 17.
