Flint Marko/Sandman actor Thomas Haden Church never actually appeared on set during the production of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
In an interview with befores & afters, visual effects supervisor Kelly Port was asked about working on Sandman for the film and revealed that the character proved challenging both "technically and creatively." The subject then turned to whether or not the production had the chance to do facial capture for the actor, which resulted in Port indicating that Church never actually appeared on set for any of the film. "We had his voice," Port explained. "We weren't able to get a lot of visuals on him, but we were able to get his voice for sure and we got scans and textures and things like that."
In December, there was speculation Sony and Marvel Studios recycled older footage of Church and Rhys Ifans (Lizard) for the film. However, neither of those studios nor anyone involved in the project officially confirmed that was the case. And while Port's statement is not necessarily confirmation, it does lend some legitimacy to those claims.
Set directly after the events of 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home, No Way Home brings back several villains from past Spider-Man franchises, including Sandman. This happens as a result of a failed spell by Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to make the world forget Peter Parker's secret identity after it was exposed by Quentin Beck/Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal). Sandman, for his part, spends most of the movie looking for a way to get home, which brings him into conflict with Peter, who wants to cure the villains of their afflictions.
Church first played Sandman in 2007's Spider-Man 3, which was the worst-received movie of Sam Raimi's original trilogy. Church is also known for his work in such projects as Wings, Sideways and George of the Jungle. His next film, Chocolate Lizards, does not have a release date at this time. No specific reason has been given as of writing for why Church didn't appear on set for No Way Home.
Since its release in December, No Way Home has proven a massive success for Sony and Marvel Studios. The second-highest rated MCU film, No Way Home currently holds a 94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. At the box office, No Way Home has earned more than $1.368 billion worldwide so far and become one of the highest-grossing films ever.
Directed by Jon Watts, No Way Home is in theaters now.
Source: befores & afters