Willem Dafoe Only Agreed To Be In "Spider-Man: No Way Home" If He Did His Own Stunts, Plus 30 More Behind-The-Scenes Facts You Should Know

🚨 Warning: There are MASSIVE — and I mean massive — spoilers ahead for Spider-Man: No Way Home! 🚨

1.First, Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Jacob Batalon knew the third Spider-Man movie was going to involve the multiverse for "at least a couple of years," but they were skeptical that it would actually happen.

2.In fact, there was a point where the third movie was going to center around Kraven the Hunter because "things weren't working out," and Tom Holland was even pitched the Kraven movie by director Jon Watts.

Tom Holland said, "Jon pitched me this Kraven movie, which was actually really cool. It was fun." Meanwhile, screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers said that Kraven the Hunter is "always" on the table when thinking about Spider-Man movies. In 2021, Aaron Taylor-Johnson was officially cast as Kraven for a standalone movie.

3.Screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers started writing Spider-Man: No Way Home in December 2019 and didn't really finish until "early 2021."

4.Since the script was constantly changing, a lot of former Spider-Man stars, like Alfred Molina, Willem Dafoe, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire, tentatively signed on just from an initial pitch, and then they were delivered script pages.

5.In fact, Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire weren't given actual script pages until just before they filmed their scenes, which was around Christmas 2020.

6.Tobey and Andrew's Peter Parkers were originally going to have a different entrance in the film. At first, they were going to be brought to Tom's Peter by a character and introduced as the "saving graces" who could help him through Aunt May's death.

7.Willem Dafoe only wanted to be in Spider-Man: No Way Home if it was more than just a "power cameo," and he wanted to be involved in all of the action and stunts.

8.When Tom Holland was going to set for his first rehearsal with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, Zendaya and Jacob Batalon went to watch, and Zendaya said it felt like they were Tom's parents "dropping [him] off at kindergarten."

9.Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Jacob Batalon came up with a lot of inside jokes with Tobey Maguire while he was on set. Two of them being "Definitely not your dad" and "T-McG."

10.Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield all have a group chat that Tom started, and he said their bond is like a "brotherhood."

11.Even though Zendaya isn't in the scene that features the return of Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Daredevil, she was on set watching from behind the monitors.

12.While filming the moment when Green Goblin talks to Peter about his existential crisis, Willem Dafoe filmed the scene "30 times" and gave a different performance every single time.

13.Just like fans, Tom Holland was emotional over Aunt May's death and said it "comes out of the blue." He loved that with her death, the movie was able to solidify that she was just an important role model for Peter.

14.When Andrew and Tobey's Peters meet Tom's Peter on the roof of the school, a lot of the dialogue came from Andrew and Tobey's own ideas and improvisation between the two of them and Tom Holland.

15.Andrew Garfield loved leaning into his Peter's trauma after Gwen's death as well as playing the "middle brother" Peter.

16.Marisa Tomei told her therapist the ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home before it was released because she just had to tell someone.

17.A majority of the film was actually shot on sound stages in Atlanta, Georgia — where most Marvel Cinematic Universe movies are filmed — so, a lot of times when you are seeing NYC, it's actually a set with blue screen in the background.

18.In fact, the bridge fight between Doc Ock and Spider-Man is made up of a "few hundred VFX shots," and it was originally a 15-minute-long sequence.

19.Alfred Molina's Doc Ock tentacles are all CGI instead of being operated by puppeteers, like they were in Spider-Man 2 in 2004.

20.Director Jon Watts is credited with coming up with the idea to have Andrew Garfield's Peter save MJ after she falls from the Statue of Liberty during the final battle.

21.Jamie Foxx was most excited to have a "brand-new look" for Electro, and he was thrilled to get away from the blue look that he had in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

22.For a lot of Sandman's moments in the film, only Thomas Haden Church's voice was used, and visuals had to be created by the VFX team without him physically being there.

23.Alfred Molina asked Jacob Batalon for an autographed photo during filming. Jacob thought he was kidding, but Alfred explained that his stepdaughter is a big fan of his.

24.Zendaya went to set most days — even if she wasn't filming a scene — to watch director Jon Watts work because she's interested in directing in the future.

25.During filming, Jamie Foxx would host massive dance parties on set. Zendaya described the elaborate dance breaks, saying that there were "lights going. Rihanna was playing."

26.One of the things Tom Holland loved most about Spider-Man: No Way Home was showing the darker side to Peter Parker in his scenes where he fights Green Goblin.

27.One of the most "brutal" filming days for Tom Holland involved when he had to hang upside down while Doc Ock slams Peter against a stone pillar.

28.Tom Holland's brother Harry actually filmed a scene for the movie, but it didn't make the final cut. Harry played a young burglar who Spider-Man was going to catch.

29.Zendaya cried while watching (and filming) the entire movie and immediately said, "This is awfully sad," when they wrapped production.

30.After Tom Holland wrapped Spider-Man: No Way Home, he went snowboarding because his contract was up and he could do anything he wanted. He immediately got hurt and FaceTimed Zendaya with blood running down his face.

31.And finally, as of right now, Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal are "actively beginning to develop" where Spider-Man's story "heads next."

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