Spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home
With a release date of May 6, 2022, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness is fast approaching. Now that we’ve been introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe phase 4’s multiverse and seen the first trailer, rumors are flying that Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man will make a cameo appearance. But is that likely, or is it pure speculation?
I’ll confess that Tobey Maguire was the guy who turned me into a Marvel fan. I’d never really been into comics, but as soon as I walked out of the movie theater after seeing Spider-Man, I was hooked. Spider-Man 2 was even better, with its introduction of Alfred Molina’s unforgettable Doctor Octopus, and while I never became a huge fan of Spider-Man 3, the trilogy cemented Tobey’s place as the one and only Spider-Man for me. Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland are fantastic, but I’m a Tobey stan for life.
When I started to hear murmurs that Maguire and Andrew Garfield were both going to appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home, I tried not to get my hopes up, especially after they both began denying any involvement in the project. After all, a lot of wild rumors tend to fly around Marvel movies, especially since Marvel keeps its cards so close to its vest. We knew that No Way Home dealt with the multiverse, so theoretically cameos by Maguire and Garfield could make sense, but how disappointing would it be if the rumors turned out to be false and I sat through the whole movie waiting for a treat that never came?
Needless to say, when Maguire’s Spidey stepped through that portal in No Way Home, I was one of the countless happy fans who thought we’d died and gone to Heaven. But does that mean that he’ll also appear in Multiverse of Madness? And if he does, could that be too much of a good thing?
The Multiverse of Madness: Land of a Thousand Cameos
You may have noticed that there have been a lot of cameo rumors surrounding the next Doctor Strange movie lately. It’s confirmed that Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) will play major roles in the story.
Last summer, after Loki on Disney+ ended, rumors started popping up that Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson) and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) would all make an appearance in Multiverse of Madness, too. Since then, the list of rumored cameos and supporting roles has ballooned, with more than 25 characters supposedly making an appearance, including Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, Edward Norton’s Hulk, some version of Ghost Rider, and an Iron Man variant played by Tom Cruise.
Given all those rumors (some of them admittedly far-fetched), it’s no surprise that Maguire’s Spider-Man has joined the list. After all, it’s a movie about the multiverse, which Marvel has already been using as a playground to bounce different versions of their characters off of each other. Spider-Men teaming up, Lokis falling in love: the multiverse is a place where all types of madness can happen. But does this mean that Maguire is actually in the movie?
Where did the Tobey Maguire Rumor Come From?
A few days ago, the Twitter account @SpideyUpdate shared a story that Portuguese voice actress Mariana Torres shared on Instagram. The story shows Torres posing with Portuguese voice actor Manolo Rey. Torres voices Wanda Maximoff in the Portuguese language versions of Marvel films, while Rey voices Maguire’s Spider-Man. The story’s caption reads “Good things are coming,” so some fans have come to the conclusion that she and Rey are working together on the Multiverse of Madness Portuguese dub.
Now, should one Instagram story be taken as gospel? Probably not. After all, the evidence that Torres is referring specifically to a Multiverse of Madness cameo is pretty thin, and knowing how secretive Marvel is about their upcoming projects, it’s unlikely that they would let Torres reveal something so huge in the first palace. The two actors might just be working together on another project.
Plus, as mad as the multiverse is, it’s only one movie, and that list of possible guest stars is getting pretty crowded. Unless Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ends up being 15 hours long, there most likely isn’t room for all the characters fans are hoping to see.
Still, we can hope! We’ll know for certain on May 6, when Multiverse of Madness hits theaters.
(Featured image: Sony)
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
