September 27, 2023

Spider-Man: No Way Home is back in cinemas but what has been added in this extended cut?

The phenomenon of 2021 Spider-Man: No Way Home is back in cinemas for a limited time. Just like in 2019 for Spider-Man Far From Home, Sony is offering an extended cut for cinemagoers. This cut is called The More Fun Stuff Version. And it contains 11 additional minutes.

But, is it worth going back to see it? Of course, seeing this film again on the big screen is an incredible experience. I had seen it five times back in December 2021. With this re-release, it is now my sixth viewing in cinemas. And I still love it as much as the first time. So, let’s see what has been added on this extended cut.

INTRODUCTION

Spider-Man: No Way Home. A Sony Pictures/ Columbia Pictures/ Marvel Studios Release.

The film is introduced by a video of Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire who thank the fans for the success of the movie. They also share a little banter. It is undoubtedly nice to see them talk about it. Though, I don’t think this is necessary as it takes around 30 seconds of deleted content we could have had from the actual film.

DODC CUSTODY

Tom Holland as Peter Parker and Arian Moayed as Agent P. Cleary in Spider-Man: No Way Home. A Sony Pictures/ Columbia Pictures/ Marvel Studios Release.

The sequence when the DODC interrogates Peter, his friends and May is a bit longer. It features a few additional lines of dialogue including a few jokes made by Peter Parker and Agent P. Cleary.

HARRY HOLLAND

Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Spider-Man: No Way Home. A Sony Pictures/ Columbia Pictures/ Marvel Studios Release.

During filming, Tom Holland’s brother Harry had revealed he had shot a scene. And as I suspected, the extended cut features his scene. It is when someone throws that green goo on Spider-Man. This is actually interesting. Because it shows that now that everybody knows who is Spider-Man, he can’t even do his superhero job. Indeed, people are calling out to him to criticize what he is doing. Suddenly, everyone around gets involved arguing whether or not he should be a superhero. It is a hard time for Peter in every aspect of his life.

HIGH SCHOOL LIFE

Tom Holland as Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home. A Sony Pictures/ Columbia Pictures/ Marvel Studios Release.

Betty Brant played by Angourie Rice had a secondary role in Spider-Man Far From Home that turned into a ten-second role in Spider-Man: No Way Home. However, the extended cut gives her a more significant screentime. She continues her role of anchor at Midtown News. At the start of the school year, she conducts a series of interviews. This is a funny sequence that gives screentime to several characters we had seen in the previous Spider-Man movies.

Moreover, before Peter Parker ends up on the rooftop of his High School being tired of what is going on, the extended cut actually shows us what is going on. That includes the interviews and how Peter is treated by the people around him. He has become an attraction. It is a short scene but it really emphasizes even more that at school his life has turned into a living hell.

THE LAWYER

Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home. A Sony Pictures/ Columbia Pictures/ Marvel Studios Release.

Matt Murdock actually has one other scene in Spider-Man: No Way Home. In fact, Happy does pick him as his lawyer. So we see the two talking to the DODC. That scene is happening at the same time as Peter brings the villains to Happy’s apartment. Which also features an additional scene with the villains, Peter and May. Obviously, I am always happy to see more of Matt Murdock.

J. JONAH JAMESON

J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson in Spider-Man: No Way Home. A Sony Pictures/ Columbia Pictures/ Marvel Studios Release.

The one and only J. Jonah Jameson played by J.K. Simmons also gets more screentime. Seeing him shouting nonsense about how bad Spider-Man is never gets old! I hope he keeps playing the character for as long as they make Spider-Man movies with Tom Holland. I can’t imagine someone else playing JJJ.

PETER 2 AND PETER 3

Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home. A Sony Pictures/ Columbia Pictures/ Marvel Studios Release.

And yes, the extended version features more of Peter 2 (Tobey Maguire) and Peter 3 (Andrew Garfield). More talking, more banter, more fun. What we get is an extended scene of the sequence at the Statue of Liberty before the villains arrive. These interactions between Tobey and Andrew feel so natural. I really love them. This additional dialogue really emphasizes how happy Peter 3 is to have found other people like him. It is exactly what he needed. I hope this isn’t the last time we see them all together. This is way too good to be a one time team up.

POST CREDITS SCENE

Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds (left) and Zendaya as MJ (right) in Spider-Man: No Way Home. A Sony Pictures/ Columbia Pictures/ Marvel Studios Release.

If you remember, the second post credits scene in the December release included the first teaser for Doctor Strange in The Multiverse Of Madness. Now that the film has been released, there is a new scene instead. We see Betty Brant presenting a short documentary montage about their lives in High School for Midtown News. In this video, we see events from the previous Spider-Man movies with all of Peter’s friends except they no longer remember him. This is really sad especially after the bittersweet ending scene. And at the same time, I think it is an important scene because it really marks the end of an era for this Spider-Man.

OVERALL

Even though, this cut only adds 11 more minutes to the film, there are actually a lot of good scenes. Some that I can understand why they were cut but others that I feel like they should have been kept. However, I do think it is a shame Sony is keeping these Spider-Man extended cuts for cinemas only. Releasing Spider-Man: Far From Home and No Way Home extended cuts on 4K and blu-ray would surely make a lot of fans happy.

Spider-Man: No Way Home The More Fun Stuff Version is now in cinemas for a limited time.

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