Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man season 1Marvel Studios' newest The Amazing Spider-Man 3. Starring Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker, the third Spider-Man movie would have seen Spider-Man continuing to battle Oscorp, as well as multiple villains originating from the corrupt company. However, Peter likely wouldn't have been alone in his mission to expose and defeat Oscorp.

Following The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Peter Parker would have faced multiple new villains like Doctor Octopus, Rhino, Vulture, Kraven, and Mysterio led by Harry Osborn's Green Goblin. As such, a Sinister Six spin-off movie was meant to precede The Amazing Spider-Man 3​​​​​​, though Sony ended up canceling their universe in favor of a new deal with Marvel Studios to bring a new Spider-Man (Tom Holland) into the MCU. However, Marvel has ironically brought back a key character in their animated Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man series who was meant to be a key ally to Garfield's Peter Parker in Amazing Spider-Man 3.

Why The Amazing Spider-Man 3 Was Canceled

Poor Reviews, Studio Tensions, The 2014 Sony Hack, and An MCU Deal

There are several reasons why Sony chose to abandon The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and the rest of its planned universe. In part, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 didn't receive the greatest reviews, and the studio was likely looking for a grander return at the box office (though the sequel did perform decently well). Beyond that, there were reports that certain heads at Sony were unhappy with Garfield, and that tensions arose specifically after the actor was reportedly unwell and had to cancel hours before a scheduled appearance in Brazil where The Amazing Spider-Man 3 would have been officially announced.

Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man unmasked and masked with spider webs
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Likewise, the infamous 2014 hack at Sony played a key role in the studio changing its Spider-Man plans as well, though the final nail in the coffin was Sony reaching a deal with Marvel Studios to have their Webslinger the MCU. While there were initial talks about simply having Garfield's Spider-Man in the MCU, the decision was made by both studios to recast Peter Parker and effectively reboot the franchise within the MCU proper. This resulted in Tom Holland's Spider-Man debuting in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, the same year The Amazing Spider-Man 3 was meant to be released.

Sony Originally Wanted Spider-Man's Father To Return In The Amazing Spider-Man 3

Richard Parker Would Have Reunited With Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker

In a released deleted scene for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Peter's scientist father Richard Parker was going to reveal himself to his son years after his presumed death in a plane crash orchestrated by Oscorp, who wanted his groundbreaking work. This would have happened at the very end of the movie while Peter was mourning Gwen Stacy, who was killed by the Green Goblin. Revealing that he had to stay away to keep Oscorp from coming after Peter, Richard explains he'd promised Peter's mother that he'd be there for their son when he needed them most, hence his return now after all this time.

The reason as to why this scene was deleted likely came from a desire to instead have it at the beginning of The Amazing Spider-Man 3. Presumably, Richard and Peter would have worked together to take on Oscorp as multiple villains were amassing to take on Spider-Man, which would have resulted in a fascinating dynamic with the father and son working side by side. However, this is also assuming Richard wasn't actually the shapeshifting Chameleon, connecting to a plot from the original comics involving the villain and fake versions of Peter's dead parents "returning" to reunite with their son.

Now, The MCU Is Doing What Sony Failed To Do (And It's Very Exciting)

Richard Parker Is Alive In Marvel's New Alt-MCU Timeline

Richard Parker in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man episode 10

Remarkably, Marvel Studios' Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man brought back Richard Parker in its season finale, a major twist very few likely saw coming. Revealed to be behind bars for an unknown crime, Richard is shown meeting with Peter's Aunt May and wants to know how his son is doing. However, it's currently unknown what Peter knows about his father, if anything. Regardless, it's going to be very exciting to see how this reveal plays out in future seasons of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.

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Because of its setting in an alt-MCU timeline, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man has a lot of freedom with its storytelling, and that includes its new version of Richard Parker. Perhaps Richard was a SHIELD agent, like in the original comics, or perhaps he once secretly worked for Oscorp as a nod to the Amazing Spider-Man movies. Whatever the case may be, it's quite exciting to see that Marvel Studios is now setting up a similar storyline that Sony abandoned years ago by bringing back Spider-Man's father as a major ending twist, one that will actually be paid off.

All episodes of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man are now streaming on Disney+.

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