Spider-Man: No Way Home was a reunion of epic proportions. The Marvel blockbuster featured the return of several of Spidey’s past rivals, including Doc Ock, Electro, and the Green Goblin. However, a new interview with the film’s writers has confirmed that, despite the movie being jam-packed with fan favorites, there were still some villains that had gotten the chop.
In an interview with Jeff Goldsmith for The Q&A podcast, Spider-Man: No Way Home writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers revealed that the film almost included even more villains. Chris McKenna said:
Yes, there was [talk of Mysterio or Rhino returns]. Yeah, there was definitely talk, like, 'Who is the Sinister Six here? If you want six, you can always say Venom was the sixth if you want. He's in the tag, he made it [into the MCU], but he never made it out of Mexico (laughs). There was always that talk of, 'Should we be doing officially the Six?'
While there was certainly a surplus of past villains in Spider-Man: No Way Home, it wasn’t enough to warrant the title of the Sinister Six. The evil organization frequently appeared in the comics and featured an ever-changing roster of Spider-Man’s enemies, but it has never actually made it to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sandman, Doc Ock, and Electro, who all duked it out with Peter Parker in No Way Home, were part of the original line-up, and Mysterio and Rhino were both members at one point or another.
Unfortunately for fans, Mysterio and Rhino were ultimately omitted from the final product. Jake Gyllenhaal’s version of Mysterio perished in Spider-Man: Far From Home, but fans had held out hope that the multiverse would facilitate the villain’s return. Rhino was briefly mentioned, but Paul Giamatti’s Russian accent did not grace the screen (leading some fans to speculate that Marvel is gearing up to use the character in another project).
Aside from a throwaway line or two, the only glimpse of either character was during the climatic ‘multiversal’ battle in the film’s third act. As Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) attempted to prevent the multiverse from collapsing, multiple silhouettes were visible in the background. A particularly eagle-eyed TikToker identified Rhino and Mysterio amongst the ghostly shapes, as well as other adversaries like Scorpion, Black Cat, Kraven the Hunter, and Superior Spider-Man. It’s far from the screen time given to Alfred Molina, Jamie Foxx, and Willem Dafoe, but with the endless list of Marvel films in the works, fans can still hold out for a hero - or, in this case, a villain.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is now playing in theaters everywhere. Already caught up on the adventures of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man? Get pumped for this next wave of new Marvel releases in Phase Four.
