Spider-Man: No Way Home Artist Shares Emotional Tom Holland Scene

Spider-Man: No Way Home's concept art reveals an alternate version of an emotional scene for the hero. Marvel artist Phil Saunders shared a look at Tom Holland's Peter Parker saying goodbye to Aunt May on Facebook. While a lot of MCU fans will immediately remember that moment from the massive blockbuster, this version looks a little different. In the concept art, Spidey is cradling his Aunt in an ambulance speeding away from Happy Hogan's apartment building rather than in the rubble of that massive fight with those villains. Somewhere across the space of developing Spider-Man: No Way Home, the decision was made to have that sad moment there instead.

On Facebook, the artist wrote, "#Spiderman #nowayhome has one of the most poignant moments in the #mcu, the death of #peterparker's beloved Aunt May. In an earlier version of the script, this moment took place in an ambulance racing to the nearest hospital. I always like to capture the emotion of a scene in my keyframes, so this was a wonderful shot to be assigned. #marvelstudios #marvel #spidey #tomholland #conceptart #marvelvisualdevelopment #visualdevelopment #visdev #conceptdesign #digitalart #digitalillustration #keyframes #photoshop"

Why Did Aunt May's Death Happen Where It Did?

It turns out, there was a very good reason that her death scene occurred where it did. The COVID-19 pandemic complicated filming a ton and navigating those challenges was a top priority for the filmmakers. Spider-Man: No Way Home co-writer Chris McKenna told Gold Derby about that process and actually name-dropped this ambulance scenario during the interview. It feels like a lot of this was up in the air due to the constraints placed on the production. McKenna also mentioned the idea that Aunt May may have walked away from the fight scene, only to end up in that ambulance from something else right afterward.

"It was tricky [to write]. It was also tricky production-wise because we had different ideas for where the scene could take place, but because of Covid [it had to change]," McKenna told the outlet. "We had one idea that maybe it was going to be inside an ambulance, and we had a whole version that was constructed around that, but that was not practical for shooting during Covid."

"That's the kind of thing that happens. So then we had to move the scene, physically, to another place while trying to keep all the other elements working," he would add. "We had to make adjustments, and that's the kind of thing that happens in production. So it was [tricky], but I'm glad that it turned out the way it did, and that it affected people the way we wanted -- that it resonated -- because it's so important to Peter's story and to his journey."

Why Aunt May Instead of Uncle Ben?

Aunt May really helps serve a similar role to Uncle Ben for the MCU's version of Spider-Man. Some fans were taken off-guard by the chance. But, Spider-Man: No Way Home writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers explained why with The Hollywood Reporter back in 2021. In essence, it's a device that shows how these Peter Parker variants are different. But, also why they are similar at their core. In the MCU's reality, the hero was mentored by Tony Stark and molded by his aunt. As they were breaking the story down, it just made sense to have May be the big influence that would shape his path from there on out.

"I don't think there was much impetus to put it into the other two movies. This iteration of Spider-Man didn't start by telling the story of losing Uncle Ben," Sommers explained when asked about the famous line. "We started at a different place with Peter. Those words are so tied to Uncle Ben, there didn't seem to be a natural place for it. We weren't even thinking necessarily, 'Oh, we have to do it in this one.'" 

"As the story started to develop, and as we got to the scene with May, we realized, 'This is going to be Peter's Uncle Ben,' and the words are going to come out," he continued. "For the scene on the rooftop, where the three Peters meet, we felt pretty strongly that we need something to really, finally crystalize it for these three guys that they are the same, that they are brothers. And that they are bound in a cosmic way by something and having them share those words in common seemed like the thing to do."

Did you like the scene the way it was? Or was this one better? Let us know in the comments down below!