Spidey fans are seriously hyped for next month’s animated adventure Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which will bring a bunch of different Spider-people to the big screen for the first time – including Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage) and more. However, what if it’s also bringing back a version of Spidey we’ve already met?
Yes, you might have heard – or even believe – the theory that Jake Johnson’s Peter Parker in the movie is actually an older version of Tobey Maguire’s wall-crawler from the Sam Raimi trilogy. This idea’s been knocking around for a while, but it was last month’s trailer that really got fans’ brains going. In recapping Peter’s life prior to the events of the movie, it called back to not one, not two but three famous moments from the trilogy.
Namely, 2002’s Spider-Man‘s iconic upside-down kiss with Mary Jane, Spider-Man 2‘s amazing train crash sequence and another moment from that revered sequel, when Peter saved MJ from a car thrown through a cafe window. Check them all out in the gallery down below.
Obviously, any Maguire/Raimi fan will immediately notice that there are cosmetic difference in these moments compared to those in the original films. The biggest is the cafe scene, as Peter was in his civvies in the live-action movie, not his Spidey costume. The establishment itself is also much fancier – much more like the restaurant the pair visit when Peter’s about to propose in Spider-Man 3.
So, what does this mean for the theory? Well, it probably means that it’s not the intention of the filmmakers that Johnson’s Peter is the same character as Maguire’s and the use of the familiar moments is just a shorthand method of telling the audience that this is roughly the same Parker we’re already familiar with.
However, head-canon is a wonderful thing so, if you wish to believe that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse does feature an older version of the Maguire Spidey, then you’re certainly free to do so.
