With Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) taking over the worldwide box office, it is worth wondering: What is happening with The Amazing Spider-Man 3?
To recap, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) ended with the webslinger preparing to battle The Rhino (Paul Giamatti), right before the movie cut away to its end credits. However, due to the poor critical and audience reception, plans for a third movie were scrapped. Much to fans’ delight, though, both Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire made cameos in No Way Home. Fans leapt to social media, clamoring with questions about whether this was Garfield’s official return to the role. His stuntman William Spencer also announced that he did not know anything about definite plans for a third Amazing Spider-Man film.
Speculation across the internet did not stop, though. With Andrew Garfield’s cameo being considered the best in No Way Home, Sony would have to take this opportunity to hand him the suit again eventually, and continue their pre-conceived franchise plans.
Plus, Spider-Man fans did not hate Garfield in his two movies; they hated the writing. Like with Spider-Man 3 (2007), Sony’s demands forced the writers to cram in too many new characters and storylines, making for an overcrowded mess. Since fans responded warmly to the actor reprising the role in this new film, a third movie with Andrew Garfield may not have been happening at the time, but it was still a possibility.
Trailers for Morbius had also foreshadowed a multiverse crossover. The release date was pushed to January 28, due to the COVID-19 pandemic; then, the release date got pushed even further back to April 1. Moreover, since No Way Home opened the door to the multiverse by incorporating the other incarnations of the webslinger. This may have had a lot more to do with the pushbacks than the pandemic. A 2020 trailer confirmed that Vulture (Michael Keaton) will appear in the film, after his turn in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man was also shown graffitied on the wall in this trailer. The Oscorp building was presented in the trailer, with the same company logo shown in the Amazing Spider-Man series.
It is also worth noting Shailene Woodley originally filmed a scene as Mary Jane Watson in Garfield’s second solo movie. But that director Marc Webb cut her from the final film, wanting Peter Parker’s affection solely focused on Gwen Stacy. Could Woodley finally have her chance to shine here?
