The Marvel film "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" could have featured some shocking body horror elements, with Peter Parker transforming into the monstrous "Man-Spider."
Star Tom Holland revealed in a recent interview with Josh Horowitz that he was invited into the writers' room to participate in discussions, where he pitched ideas for Peter Parker's abilities to mutate further, including organic webbing, enhanced senses, and a gradual increase in strength and aggression.
Holland even wanted to push the concept to a more extreme level. "There was one point where I pitched, 'What if he had fangs that came out of his hands, and at some stage he had stingers?'" he said.
"But that stuff didn't end up in the movie," Holland continued. "But don't worry, we also explored a nightmare sequence where he wakes up and has turned into 'Man-Spider,' and we very quickly were like, 'We want kids and adults to be able to enjoy this movie, and that's just a bit too scary!'"
He explained that the creative process sometimes requires exploring ideas that don't work to find the ones that do. Holland also mentioned in another interview that the film went through significant adjustments during post-production, and that he even "really hated" an early cut that was re-edited based on test screening feedback.
In other Spider-Man stories, Peter has indeed transformed into a giant spider who has lost most of his humanity, clashing with The Punisher in this form. With Jon Bernthal set to return as The Punisher in the MCU, the "Man-Spider" concept could have tied into the film's themes. However, out of consideration for younger audiences, the crew ultimately abandoned the terrifying idea.