Last December, Marvel Studios released its third installment of the Spider-Man movies featuring British actor Tom Holland. Movie trailers teased main character Peter Parker dealing with the consequences of “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” scenes of Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange and villains from older Spider-Man films such as Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus.
The trailers — coupled with leaked set photos and vague interviews featuring Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire — led fans to believe that Tom Holland’s young, quirky Parker would soon face an epic, multiversal collaboration with these other Spider-Man variants.
After months of theorizing and analysis, fans were correct.
Seeing all three Spider-Men on screen sent Marvel fanatics into a full circle frenzy, with some viewing the film multiple times. According to Box Office Mojo, the film grossed $1.9 billion worldwide. The social-media “hype” leading up to the film had been intense and Marvel delivered.
Soon after its release, Marvel announced that the film would hit theaters again on Sept. 2, with an additional 11 minutes of footage and a rumored new post-credit scene. Fans who had experienced the film’s initial release received this announcement with excitement and joy, eager to relive the infectious energy that surrounded its initial box-office viewings.
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” operates off a plot system that has partially earned a bad rep with Marvel’s most recent projects: it assumes the viewer is up-to-date and refreshed on both old and new plot developments. Thus, the original movie contains very little exposition and conflict becomes high-stakes fairly fast, with Parker’s first fight against Dr. Octopus happening 28 minutes into the film’s original cut.
In the extended version, new additional scenes assist with the pacing of the film and help its timing feel more authentic. During the sequence where Parker and his friends are held for questioning by the U.S. Government, a humorous montage lightens the scene’s tension. A federal agent draws Parker’s “crimes” with stick figures and claims Spider-Man’s “real enemy” was national monuments — referring to his fights on the Washington Monument and London Bridge in earlier films.
We also see more of the public’s opinion about the young Spider-Man. Parker, attempting to catch a robber on the street, is stopped by pedestrians who tell him he should not be trusted with decision-making on a crime. At the end of the scene, the victim of the crime gets his backpack back from the “robber” and dumps its contents — sticky green goop — on Parker’s suit.
Most importantly, the previous end credit scene from the original release — the “Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness” trailer — was replaced with a real end-credit scene.
Supporting characters Betty Brant, a Midtown High reporter, creates a video of memories with her classmates Ned, MJ, Flash and Liz at school events, competitions and vacations. In her voiceover, she reflects on the memories and people she will never forget. At the end, the viewer realizes that the characters have fallen victim to the forgetting spell Doctor Strange casts at the end of the film: throughout Betty’s tribute, Parker is nowhere to be found.
As a whole, “Spider-Man: No Way Home (The More Fun Stuff Version)” is a wonderful re-watch for fans who enjoy the wit and feel-good aspects of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man films. The additional character interactions, light jokes and tender moments bring back the youthful playfulness of the first two films while keeping the emotion and gravity of the main plot.