Writer Details Unmade Spider-Man Film Featuring Ben Reilly, Matt Murdock, and Cat-Spider

Not all writer ideas ultimately made it to the screen.

Spider-Man: No Way Home writer Chris McKenna has discussed several ideas that were considered during script development but ultimately did not make it into the film.

In one version, Peter Parker traveled to Southeast Asia, where he lived on a boat and fought local criminal syndicates. Later, the hero would discover an impostor who had taken the Spider-Man name and registered Spider-Man as a trademark. Peter would have had to return to New York and seek legal help from Matt Murdock:

In another script version, after suffering a severe injury, Peter tried to find pain medication and met a talking spider-cat from a local store. The animal explained that the hero was part of a much larger story and tasked him with finding the Spider Totem. The further plot would have explored Peter’s connection to other bearers of spider powers.

Aside from major storylines, another scene with MJ also failed to make the cut, in which Peter tried to hide his identity using an unconvincing British accent and introduced himself as Ben Reilly:

Although these ideas never made it into the final version of the film, they show how different Peter Parker’s story could have been.