Fresh out of a panel at this year's New York Comic Con, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has dropped a brand new trailer for fans to enjoy - and it features some intriguing references to the trilogy of Spider-Man movies directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire.
The new animated motion picture comes from a producing team spearheaded by The LEGO Movie and would-be Solo: A Star Wars Story directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller. The three - yes, three - directors chosen to take the lead on Into the Spider-Verse (Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman) definitely have their hands full when it comes to the complex, multiverse-spanning story they've set on trying to tell. The plot finds six different versions of Spider-Man (that we know of) coming together to prevent the destruction of Miles Morales' (Shameik Moore) world, with Miles himself getting trained on how to be the best Spider-Man he can possibly be - thanks to the appearance of another world's Peter Parker (Jake Johnson).
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The Peter Parker in Miles Morales' universe has died, but a rift in time and space brings another version of the "original" Spider-Man through to Morales' world, and from what we've seen in the trailer, its an older, unkempt, down-on-his-luck Spider-Man. A short intro to this version of Parker in the latest trailer offers a brief greatest-hits montage of his finest moments as a hero... and some of them are oddly familiar.
- This Page: Clues That Spider-Verse's Peter Parker Is The Maguire Version
- Page 2: Some Events Are Different In Into The Spider-Verse
Spider-Verse Peter Parker Experienced Events From Raimi's Movies
Whilst the latest trailer for Into the Spider-Verse goes on to show us the plethora of other Spider-people to be featured in the movie, it leads with an intro to the Spider-Man everyone is most familiar with - Peter Parker. Fans will remember that one of the most iconic moments in Raimi's trilogy occured in Spider-Man 2, when Spidey's fight with Doctor Octopus left a runaway Manhattan train full of passengers ready to go straight through the end of the line and into the Atlantic ocean below. Spider-Man saves the day by jumping putting his back to the front of the train, and webbing it to a nail-biting eventual stop.
With Peter Parker's self-intro in the most recent trailer showing us a series of clips of his exploits, we get a look at the same scene. There are minor differences, like the fact that Spidey is shown wearing his mask (Tobey Maguire wasn't), and the destination listed on the train is different - but otherwise it's virtually identical.
The scene is followed by a brief shot of the famous upside-down Spider-kiss with Mary Jane from the first Spider-Man, and a shot of him sitting at a table in a restaurant with her as a car comes flying through a window (again echoing Spider-Man 2, and more of Doc Ock's handiwork). The use of easily-recognizable clips from Tobey Maguire's trilogy is purposeful, cementing in audiences' minds that this is the Spider-Man we've known for years.
Related: How Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Will Introduce The Multiverse
This Spider-Man Could Be An Older Maguire
The Jake Johnson-voiced Spider-Man we're introduced to in Into the Spider-Verse is depicted as a man easily in his 30's, more grizzled and slobbish than ever, shovelling into his mouth while he lectures Miles about the intricacies of multiple universes. The filmmakers are portraying this Peter Parker as a Spider-Man who's older, wiser, and comfortable in his own skin.
Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man was always shown to be a bit more neurotic, uptight and put-upon. However, we don't know what could have happened after the credits rolled for Spider-Man 3 back in 2007. If that universe's timeline has kept up with our own, then Maguire's Peter Parker would now be more than a decade older and could easily have become the relaxed, wisecracking Spidey we're shown in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Page 2: Some Events Are Different In Into The Spider-Verse
Some Events Are Different In Into The Spider-Verse
There are a few other hints that this isn't precisely Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man. The aforementioned scene of Spider-Man's dinner with Mary Jane being ruined by a flying car is different in a number of ways - in Spider-Man 2, Peter Parker is in civvies (not in costume), he and Mary Jane are in a cafe (not a fancy restaurant) and he dodges the car whilst grabbing Mary Jane, rather than simply turning around and punching it away. The aforementioned differences to the train scene also set this animated Spidey apart from Tobey Maguire's rendition.
Co-director Rodney Rothman has already outright stated that this Peter Parker "isn't [one] you've seen before", but his comments stem from the idea that this is an older, world-weary Spider-Man in as much need of a mentee as Miles Morales is in need of a mentor - "Similar to how you would think of a pro athlete nearing his 40's."
Related: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Directors Talk MCU Connections
The soundbite doesn't necessarily remove the idea that this Peter Parker ran a similar track in his early crime-fighting career as Tobey Maguire did in his trilogy, albeit with minor differences, eventually leading him to become the character voiced by Jake Johnson. That idea is a lot more interesting and exciting than the supposition that this is yet another brand new Peter Parker.
It's Funnier If Other Spider-Men Are Referenced
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is clearly a film that isn't afraid to take jabs at Spider-Man's place in pop culture, with jokes about how the superhero has his own comics, merch, and even a Christmas album. Considering we've had three different live-action Spider-Men in the last 11 years, and knowing that Lord & Miller's particular brand of comedy comes with meta-textual commentary on the brands they take on (see also: the Jump Street movies), it's easy to imagine that we'll witness some kind of joke at Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland's expense in Into the Spider-Verse - especially as it's a film about parallel universe versions of Spider-Man.
If this Peter Parker ends up being as advertised - essentially, a finely-tuned and distilled version of Peter Parker that incorporates all the best qualities and experiences from many renditions of Spider-Man - then the scope still exists for the movie to make fun of other big screen versions of the web-slinger. If they don't at least make a reference to the previous cinematic versions of Spider-Man, it could be something fans get to laugh at in a potential sequel, should the film find success this holiday season.
After all, for a film where its sense of humor seems to be one of its main selling features, it'd be a shame not to take the opportunity to laugh at Tobey Maguire's ridiculous facial expressions, Andrew Garfield's trendy, indie-skateboarder aesthetic, or Tom Holland's ability to make a pile of dust look so lifelike.
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