Director Sam Raimi had to change his villain plans for Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man 3, and his original idea would have impacted the MCU in a huge way.

Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 had to change the director’s initial villain plan, but had that not happened, the Marvel Cinematic Universe would likely have needed to completely change Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. Tobey Maguire was the first cinematic Peter Parker, with Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy standing to this day as some of the best Marvel movies ever made. However, there was a clear drop in quality from the seminal Spider-Man 2 to Raimi’s last collaboration with Maguire in 2007’s Spider-Man 3.

The biggest reason for that issue was that Raimi was not allowed to use the villain and story he initially had planned for Spider-Man 3. The movie’s main villain ended up being Topher Grace’s Venom; however, Raimi did not like the character and instead had developed the film with Vulture in mind for its villain before Sony executives made him ditch his plans for Venom. Had that happened, the first of the MCU’s Spider-Man movies would likely have had to make some major changes.

Spider-Man: Homecoming Likely Wouldn’t Have Used Vulture Had He Been Spider-Man 3’s Villain

Michael Keaton Played Vulture In The MCU

If Raimi had successfully used Vulture as Spider-Man 3’s villain, the character would most likely not have been chosen to serve as the first foe Holland’s Peter Parker fought in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Speaking to Comicbook.com back in 2016, Spider-Man MCU trilogy director Jon Watts revealed why Vulture was selected to be Spider-Man: Homecoming’s villain. According to the director, “The Vulture is really the first supervillain that Spider-Man ever fights in Amazing Spider-Man, the second issue, after the chameleon, so it just felt like the right thing to do, to go back to the roots in that way.”

Adding to that, Watts mentioned the choice was in part due to the Vulture allowing the “opportunity to have Spider-Man versus a guy that can fly really lends itself to some pretty cool visuals.” Had Raimi used the Vulture as he intended for Spider-Man 3, there was no way Spider-Man: Homecoming would have done the same based on Watts’ words. The back-to-the-roots aspect of it would not have worked with a previous adaptation of the character, nor would the visuals of Spider-Man fighting the Vulture have been unique to Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Why Changing From Vulture In Spider-Man: Homecoming Would’ve Totally Changed His MCU Story

Adrian Toomes Played An Important Role In Peter Parker’s MCU Journey

Vulture played a major role in the evolution of the MCU’s Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Homecoming. As the hero’s first solo villain, Vulture offered both an intellectual and physical threat to Spider-Man. The villain discovered Spider-Man’s secret identity and threatened him with it, showing how careful Peter had to be in future outings. Had Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 plan worked and Spider-Man: Homecoming chosen a different villain, the MCU Spider-Man movies would have lost Michael Keaton’s menacing performance as the Vulture, Liz Allan would likely have remained an MCU fixture, and more.