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Many of Spider-Man: No Way Home's most memorable moments would have been spoiled if the writers and producers had followed through on their early concepts. Among the ideas shelved was Mysterio's (Jake Gyllenhaal) return, which would have completely wrecked Aunt May's (Marissa Tomei) death. Spider-Man has played an important role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Universe Saga, as he was the first to cope with the chaos and dangers of the multiverse on the big screen in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which included a few shocks.
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In No Way Home, the multiversal chaos caused by Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) served to confirm which variants of the web-slinger and other villains are part of the MCU's multiverse, as well as to bring back other Marvel characters, such as Matt Murdock/Daredevil (Charlie Cox). No Way Home was almost used to bring back a recently deceased Spider-Man villain who has been heavily rumored to still be alive: Mysterio, whose actions at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home were key to those in No Way Home, and whose role in the third MCU Spider-Man movie was going to be linked to Aunt May's death, thereby ruining that tragic moment.
Mysterio Killed Aunt May In Spider-Man: No Way Home Concept Art
The events of Spider-Man: No Way Home continue to be a topic of discussion among viewers and will still have an impact on the rest of the Multiverse Saga, so it’s not surprising that there are details about the original plans for the movie that are still being released. Among those is concept art by artist Phil Langone, which reveals a very different version of Aunt May’s death, as she was not just killed by another villain, but also triggered a wild reaction from Spider-Man. Langone shared this unused scene on his Instagram account, showing that not only was Mysterio supposed to return, but he was going to be the one responsible for May’s death, which took place under an elevated train track next to Peter’s school.
Even more shocking and strange than Mysterio coming back and killing Aunt May (of course, it’s unknown if this would have been Mysterio’s first scene or if his return from the dead would have already been addressed) is Spider-Man going berserker mode against Mysterio. Before the events of No Way Home, Holland’s Spider-Man used his web shooters to defend himself, dodge and redirect his opponent’s punches and weapons, and while he did kick the bad guys, he never punched them. This changed in No Way Home even before May’s death, but even his fights against Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) weren’t as brutal as the one he almost had with Mysterio immediately after May’s death.
Why Mysterio's Return Wouldn't Have Worked In No Way Home
Mysterio was yet another MCU villain created by Tony Stark (unbeknownst to him, that is), but he was unlike any other bad guy so far as he deceived thousands of people by posing as a hero with the help of technology and an entire team of former Stark Industries employees. Mysterio even tricked the world into believing Spider-Man killed him and was responsible for all the chaos he caused, and if framing the web-slinger wasn’t enough, he also revealed Spider-Man’s identity to the entire world. Mysterio’s talents have made way for a variety of theories about Mysterio faking his death, meaning he can return to the MCU at some point.
However, bringing Mysterio back in No Way Home simply wouldn’t have worked. The events of Far From Home were very recent, with No Way Home starting right where Far From Home’s mid-credits scene left off, so it would have made no sense to bring him back mere hours after his “death”. Mysterio’s return would have also meant that No Way Home would have had to spend some time explaining how Mysterio faked his death and why he came back so soon, and it would have also had to find a place for him amidst the redemption stories of Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, Lizard, and Electro.
Why Aunt May's Death Was Better With Green Goblin Behind It
While Mysterio killing Aunt May would have been understandable as, ultimately, what Mysterio wanted was to hurt Spider-Man, it wouldn’t have had the same emotional impact as the Green Goblin being behind Aunt May’s death. May met Norman Osborn when he arrived at the shelter she worked at, and she helped the confused man by giving him clothes and food. May was the one who encouraged Peter to help the villains instead of simply sending them back, which is why, when the Green Goblin took over and Norman Osborn left, May’s death was even more tragic. Mysterio’s evil wasn’t the result of an outside source like with the rest of No Way Home’s villains, so having him kill May would have just been a revenge act against Peter, making it feel like just a tragic moment made to shock the audience.
Mysterio Killing Aunt May Would Have Made Peter Worse Too
Mysterio killing Aunt May in No Way Home wouldn’t have just hurt her death and what she did in the movie as well, but it would have also made Holland’s Peter Parker a lot worse. Spider-Man going berserker mode after May’s death would make sense given the tragedy, but not so much if it was against Mysterio. By the time Spider-Man stopped pulling his punches against the Green Goblin, Osborn’s evil alter-ego had already attacked him and convinced the other villains (except Doctor Octopus, who had already been cured) to escape, triggering the fight that led to May’s demise. If that wasn’t enough, the Green Goblin later unleashed the contained spell, opening the gates of the multiverse and allowing countless Spider-Man enemies to cross over into the MCU. Peter’s anger was understandable, but Peter-Two (Tobey Maguire) stopped him from delivering a final hit, adding more character development to Peter-Two and showing Peter-One that he was putting himself on a very dark and dangerous path.
Peter not pulling punches against Mysterio and going berserker as described by Langone would have just hurt the young hero as there wouldn’t have been the same emotional charge as his fights against the Green Goblin. Surely, May’s death would have been enough for Spider-Man to unleash his anger against Mysterio, but it wouldn’t have made way for the moment between Holland’s Peter and Peter-Two in which the former would have understood that he wasn’t doing things right anymore, and the latter wouldn’t have prevented the youngest Peter from repeating one of his most painful mistakes. In the end, it was for the better that Mysterio wasn’t included in Spider-Man: No Way Home and it’s better off that way, with his legacy in the MCU being that of the bad guy who outsmarted Spider-Man and revealed his identity.
