Tobey Maguire’s Return to Spider-Man 3 in MCU Could Prepare a Crossover With Tom Hardy’s Venom! [Theory]

It looks like Tobey Maguire will reprise his earlier iteration of Peter Parker in MCU’s Spider-Man 3 – which could actually spark a possible clash between Tom Holland’s web crawler and Tom Hardy’s antihero Venom.

Following an unprecedented deal between Sony and Marvel Studios, rights to Spider-Man were split. Holland debuted at the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2016 and has since fought many (and side by side) heroes such as Iron Man, Captain America, and Guardians of the Galaxy.

Meanwhile, Sony has established its own pocket-sized cinematic universe focused on classic Spider-Man allies and villains.

The venture officially began in 2018 with Venom. Despite mixed critical reception, the film achieved box office success. As a result, a sequel titled Venom: Let There be Carnage was quickly announced.

Officially called Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters, it has also been confirmed that the film Morbius will be released in 2021, starring Jared Leto as the titular living vampire. The first official announcement already contained references to web crawling superhero.

The character of Adrian Toomes (aka Vulture), acted by Michael Keaton also appeared. As such, Leto himself recently pointed out, Morbius will be part of the Spider-Man space movie universe. Through it all, however, fans wondered how and when Holland’s Spider-Man would directly connect with the infamous characters.

Maguire’s appearance in Spider-Man 3 could actually help in that regard – especially in terms of putting Peter Parker and Eddie Brock on opposite sides.

The story of Venom’s origins has changed greatly for the solo film. They avoided Peter who served as the first host of the symbiote and Venom’s initially infamous tenure.

However, Eddie Brock and Venom eventually agreed to target only the bad guys. And while Mysterio pulled out Spider-Man’s identity and set him up for the murder at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter very much fits that bill.

This somewhat reversed dynamic and potentially violent misunderstanding could be further exacerbated by Maguire’s presence. After all, his universe had already seen him interact with the man and the alien being to whom he was attached.

In Topher Grace’s interpretation, Venom from the World of Maguire’s Spider-Man was a stark contrast to Hardy’s iteration of Venom.

Although at first he was miserable and a little sympathetic, in the third act of the trilogy he descended into an openly exultant atrocity.

Having kidnapped Mary-Jane, killed Harry Osborne, and nearly defeated Peter, Grace’s Venom actively managed to be evil. Unlike Harry and the film version of Flint Mark (called Sandman), there was no redemption for him. And when Peter forcibly separated Eddie from the symbiote, the man went too far.

Eventually this Eddie Brock threw himself into the radius of a bomb blast in a desperate effort to once again merge with the symbiote.

The conclusion fits into Spider-Man’s interpretation of Venom. Although obviously conscious, the alien being had no separate and distinct features.

In the eyes of Maguire’s Spider-Man, both from personal connection experience and by witnessing it in the hands of Eddie Brock, it was a mind-changing subject, encouraging aggression and nothing more.

That may be far from a comic and Hardy’s iteration, but that’s all Maguire’s Peter would know. So the symbiote Venom and his observed effects could be one of many things Maguire could warn Hollande’s Peter Parker of – to avoid connecting with him and successfully defeat anyone who is.

Given all of this, we could see Venom vs. Spider-Man, where they both believe they are the real hero of the conflict. Although the path to get there would be different, anyone with that mentality would still serve to align the characters with their comic book counterparts.

It would also encourage intense action between the two – before they inevitably find both a common language and a common enemy against whom they can unite. As such, while Maguire’s retaliation in Spider-Man 3 would be exciting in itself, it could equally serve as a springboard to the Venom franchise and beyond.