Why Bryce Dallas Howard's Gwen Stacy Was So Different In Spider-Man 3
Warning! Spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home ahead.
The mishandling of Bryce Dallas Howard's Gwen Stacy in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 exposed some significant mistakes in how Sony oversaw production on the 2007 sequel. The main problem was that the script turned Gwen Stacy into someone who bore little resemblance to the character herself. The scriptwriters shoehorned Gwen in at the studio's request, meaning that little thought was given to retaining the true consequences of her character and her death.
Because of her hasty inclusion, Bryce Dallas Howard's Gwen Stacy is reduced to being part of a quasi-love-triangle with Peter and Mary Jane. After being corrupted by the Venom symbiote, Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker essentially uses Gwen to make MJ jealous. Gwen realizes this and leaves, right before Peter assaults a bouncer. In the comics, however, she dates Harry Osborn, his best friend and The Green Goblin's son, and Peter is the one left frustrated and filled with jealousy. Spider-Man 3 treats Gwen as a sideshow to Peter demonstrating his submission to the symbiote.
Related: Is Spider-Man 3 Actually Bad? Why Marvel Fans Hate It So Much
Spider-Man 3's Gwen Stacy problem is similar to its Venom problem: the studio cared too much about cramming in every character it thought would sell movie tickets and too little about creating a lean, impactful story. While Gwen's death rocked Peter Parker's world, Gwen's survival damaged Tobey Maguire's tenure as Spider-Man more. The franchise was done after this, and it's not until 2021 that all of the stories picked up during Sony's mismanagement found a fitting conclusion in the MCU. Had Disney's MCU not become the steamroller it did, audiences likely never would have seen Maguire don
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