Inside the Deepfake Fan Theory Claiming Tobey Maguire Returns in 'Spider-Man: No Way Home'

When the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer dropped, it created a maelstrom of theories, questions and hopes in the fandom. Like all Marvel movies, this one is kind of a big deal. And now that rumors are flying about previous versions of Spider-Man and its villains returning, fans are getting hyped.

There's even a theory about Tobey Maguire in the trailer, covered by a deepfake of Tom Holland.

Yes, it's a wild theory. But, given Marvel's penchant for keeping big surprises under wraps, it's not totally unbelievable. If Tobey and Andrew Garfield really are set to return, thanks to the opened up Multiverse, then the deepfake theory about Spiderman: No Way Home and Tobey actually makes sense.

A theory popped up on TikTok revolving around Peter Parker's formal suit in Spider-Man 3, Tom Holland's face, and the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer.

In the trailer, there's a shot of Tom's Peter in a suit, on top of a stopped car on a highway. This is, presumably, during a major fight with multiple Spider-Man villains.

In the TikTok video, it's explained that the suit is quite similar to the one Tobey's Peter was wearing at the end of the 2007 Spider-Man 3 movie. The theory suggests that it's really Tobey in the scene, but that production put a deepfake of Tom's face for the trailer. And this could have some meat to it.

Part of the chaos in the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer involves multiple villains spilling from the original Sam Raimi trilogy and the other two movies starring Andrew, into the current Spider-Man universe.

The fight scene is in an area similar to where Tom's Peter is standing on top of a car in his suit. One of the villains, Doc Ock, greets Peter Parker specifically.

Doc Ock was originally in Spider-Man 2 in 2004 and he only knows Tobey's version of Peter. If Doc Ock is indeed greeting the suit-wearing Peter on the car, what if it actually is Tobey wearing the suit and not Tom, as suggested in the trailer?

The Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer is ambiguous for the most part. Take Green Goblin, for example. The trailer shows the bomb, but there's no shot of the man himself.

So, Tobey disguised as Tom is possible.

If the theory about the deepfake in the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer is accurate, what does that mean for Andrew Garfield reprising his character in the movie? Andrew played Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man in 2012 and in its sequel in 2014. There are rumors about not only Tobey, but also Andrew, appearing in the movie as the Multiverse opens up.

In May 2021, Andrew spoke with Entertainment Tonight and denied all involvement in the film. He did admit it's "a really cool idea" to bring other versions of Spider-Man into No Way Home. But he denied that he's in it.

Some allegedly leaked set photos surfaced online, in which Tobey and Andrew are in their Spidey suits. But those haven't been confirmed.

The moral of the story? There's still a ton about Spider-Man: No Way Home up for interpretation and fans are here for it.