Between Spider-Man and the other Spider-Man, Spider-Ham, Spider-Man Noir, and Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is packed with Spider-People (and animals). But according to Den Of Geek, the new animated Spidey film almost included another character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Doctor Strange. Producers Chris Miller and Phil Lord (who also co-wrote the screenplay) revealed as much at a recent junket, where they revealed that the original script featured a cameo from Benedict Cumberbatch’s cosmic hero.
Lord explains:
The first draft ended with (Strange). It ended with him saying, ‘Okay, I have some things to tell you…’ It was the first draft, like three years ago. It ended with Doctor Strange. Literally, the last frame was Doctor Strange, going, ‘Hello.’
Given that the film features multiple universes with multiple Spider-Men (and pigs), it wouldn’t be surprising for someone like Doctor Strange–who knows more than his fair share about inter-dimensional shenanigans–to make an appearance. Lord and Miller didn’t explain why the cameo was cut, but there are plenty of superheroes featured in Into The Spider-Verse as is, so his presence isn’t exactly missed. Maybe they just couldn’t come up with a suitable Spider name for him–Doctor Spider and Spider-Strange aren’t particularly catchy. Cumber-Spider? Spider-Batch? Nah.