Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy was part of a version of Spider-Man: No Way Home, but did not appear in the film, and the actress has now addressed that.

Emma Stone was shocked to hear about Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s original Gwen Stacy plans. Stone last played Gwen in 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, where the character sadly fell to her death. While her co-star, Andrew Garfield, returned in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home as his version of Peter Parker, Stone was nowhere to be seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe flick. Recently, the MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios book revealed that Stone’s Gwen and more characters were considered for Spider-Man: No Way Home in early drafts of the movie.

Speaking with Comicbook.com‘s Phaze Zero, Stone was asked about if she had been approached for Spider-Man: No Way Home.

The actress was shocked to discover that the team behind the movie had actually included her in a version of the story. According to Stone, whatever plans existed for her character in Spider-Man: No Way Home, they never made their way to her. When asked if she would be game to appear in future Spider-Man movies as a Spider-Gwen variant of her character, Stone poked fun at the idea. Check out the exchange below:

“Interviewer: No Way Home. There was rumors for a long time, and the writers recently confirmed, that they once wrote your character of Gwen Stacy into the Spider-Man: No Way Home script. Did that idea ever make it to you?

Stone: No… Is that true? I have never heard that before. This is awesome. Thank you for telling me.

Interviewer: Everyone wants to see live-action Spider-Gwen. Is that something you’d ever want to do one day?

Stone: Oh my God. If that’s, again, you know, new information. Everyone?!

Interviewer: Everyone… And I’m glad you’re not too on social media, because if you spent one day on social media, you’d see all the fan art.

Stone: WHOA. All right, send it to me.”

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Why Spider-Man: No Way Home Not Having Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy Was For The Best

Gwen Stacy Was Not Entirely Absent From The MCU Movie

While Garfield and Tobey Maguire returned as their versions of Spider-Man, with five villains from their movies also appearing in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the film was ultimately Tom Holland’s. Both past Spider-Man movie actors have gone on record to say that their role in the movie was to support the journey of Holland’s Peter Parker in the best way that they could. Had Stone appeared as a Gwen Stacy variant, given her history with Garfield, the spotlight would have ultimately gone from Holland to the duo.

That is one of the reasons why Stone not returning in Spider-Man: No Way Home was for the best. Another reason why Stone not appearing as Gwen in the MCU movie was good is due to how much time she would have had. With its many MCU and past Spider-Man franchise characters, Spider-Man: No Way Home was a packed movie. Given her emotional death in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Stone’s return as a different Gwen could not have been given justice if it had to be relegated to a few quick scenes in the movie, making her absence better than having her return.

While Stone never appeared in the movie, the presence of her Gwen Stacy was definitely felt through Garfield’s Peter. The actor delivered what might be the movie’s most emotional performance, showing how much Gwen’s death had haunted Peter in the years since Garfield’s character was last seen. Thankfully, Garfield’s Spider-Man saved Zendaya’s MJ from a similar death to that of Stone’s Gwen, finding his redemption. Through the multiverse, Stone could return as a Gwen Stacy variant in a possible The Amazing Spider-Man 3 or in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, both of which would allow her the time to properly reunite with Garfield like Spider-Man: No Way Home would not have.