Spider-Man: Far From Home proved to be one of the biggest films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, providing fans with a compelling narrative, a great set-up for future stories and a fitting epilogue to the greater whole of Phase 3. However, as is always the case with any story, some ideas were ultimately scrapped, either because they didn't fit into the film or just didn't work as ideas.
Wo which ideas almost made it into Spider-Man: Far From Home, and which ones, for better or worse, almost made it into a different film entirely?
Mysterio is a Skrull?
While the twist that Nick Fury and Maria Hill were Talos and Soren -- Skrulls from Captain Marvel -- throughout the whole film, the directors had an even bigger plan for the Skrulls that was ultimately scrapped. In a recent interview with Collider, screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers revealed Mysterio was originally going to be a Skrull. However, the idea didn't get far.
Mysterio is all about deception. He deceives Peter and Talos throughout the first half of the film and manages to deceive the world in the mid-credits scene. However, would Mysterio being a Skrull change things? As of now, the Skrulls are a peaceful race in the MCU. To introduce an evil Skrull would be interesting, but would it be good?
Peter Parker's enemies have been down-to-earth, human adversaries, disgruntled workers, the every-man. These characters work in Spider-Man films because the villains function as effective foils to Parker, who is also put-down by society. He's just a normal kid given extraordinary powers. The threat feels more thematically resonant because Peter can, on some level, connect with the villain. Parker and Beck resonate because they are both affected by Stark's actions and are trying to find their place in the new world; of course, they have very different aims that put them in conflict with each other.
What thematic connection would a teen mourning Tony Stark have with an alien? As a point of comparison, consider the Elementals. Even before they're revealed to be just an illusion crafted by Mysterio, the Elementals feel too other-worldly for Peter. They do not matter in Peter's personal journey.
New Asgard
Another change made to the film was New Asgard. At one point, Peter was supposed to travel to the new home of the Asgardians in Norway, which would have resulted in more characters popping up as part of the European tour. However, according to director Jon Watts, it wasn't an idea they went with.
While it might be tempting to check in on Valkyrie and Korg, their presence might have taken away from the core of the film. Peter Parker is the only hero Fury (Talos) can turn to. Valkyrie is off running Asgard, trying to fix things where Thor left off. If she dealt with the Elementals, Mysterio would have been beaten the moment Valkyrie charged into the illusion, only to find a bunch of cameras.
Plus, Mysterio is positioned as the next big hero to replace Tony Stark in Peter's eyes. If he met Valkyrie on his adventures, it's way more likely EDITH would have landed in her hands. In that sense, New Asgard would've been just fan-service that broke the core conflict of the film.
Aaron Davis
There are several characters from Spider-Man: Homecoming who do not appear in Spider-Man: Far From Home. Even some returning characters, like Ned or Flash, have a reduced role in the sequel. One such character was Donald Glover's Aaron Davis, the uncle of a future/alternate-universe Spider-Man, Miles Morales. Peter was reportedly going to have another interaction with Davis, but in order to get Peter on his trip to Europe, the idea was shaved for time.
Spider-Man: Far From Home is a focused film. It zeroes-in on just the stuff that is important to the plot. That's why the film doesn't check up on Liz or the Vulture or, as mentioned before, Davis. Unless the characters had a role to play in the narrative, they don't need to be there.
Ultimately, what would any of those cameos have added? A nod to fans? Davis and Morales are no doubt going to be relevant in films to come. There is no reason to force them all into one film that does not need or require them. That would be purposeless fan-service. After all, did Thor: The Dark World need all the characters from the first film to return? Did they serve a purpose to the plot? Thor: Ragnorak did far better by trimming unnecessary characters.
Tony Stark
One thing must be stated: Tony Stark was never planned on being brought back to life in the film. Nor, for that matter, was Peter going to encounter Tony in a flashback. While Iron Man does appear in photographs throughout the film and as a nightmarish zombie in Mysterio's hallucination, Stark himself does not appear in any new capacity.
However, this wasn't always the case. At one point, the writers considered using Tony in either re-used footage or having his voice emerge out of EDITH (the pair of sunglasses that turn out to be the film's MacGuffin). Ultimately, they decided against it so the absence of Stark would resonate more in the film.
Again, like every change made, this idea resulted in a better product. As McKenna states in his interview with Hollywood Reporter, "If you are doing a movie about loss, you don't want to keep going to the well. 'He's still alive and now he's a hologram, showing you around Avengers compound.'"
Was It Wise to Cut These Threads?
If the writers included these three known plot points, the film would have changed drastically. A film about loss would've countered its own themes by bringing back (in a way) a dead character. The film would've become less focused by including fan service cameos that didn't further the plot. The core conflict of the film (two everyday people trying to live in a world without Tony Stark, using their gifts and talents to their own ends) would've become a conflict between a teenager and just some alien.
That doesn't sound like a better version of Spider-Man: Far From Home.