This should bring back some memories. Today on the internet, the infamous "Twin Towers Teaser" for Sam Raimi's 2002 Spider-Man has been unearthed and restored to its former glory, sending film nerds and comic book junkies into a nostalgic uproar.

Long have fans of the iconic Tobey Maguire web-slinger film shared campfire stories of catching this elusive teaser in the early Aughts, which, as you might recall, was pulled from theaters following the tragic 9/11 attacks in 2001. The trailer, which has been uploaded to YouTube by the account known as "Yoshi Killer2S," features a punchy heist sequence that ends with a criminal helicopter getting caught in a gigantic spider web between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.

For those of us who grew up in the '90s and early 2000s, this teaser represents a lost part of our adolescence, something that many of us may have been lucky enough to catch in theaters once or twice–only to be struck from existence for almost two decades. We've seen bits, pieces, and renders of this trailer in past years, but never showcased in pristine quality like this. Though it seems to be a fan colorization and master of the original footage, this is likely as close as we'll ever get to seeing Raimi's original vision for this legendary teaser.

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The oft-argued legend of the teaser, which can be seen in glorious, fully-color-corrected 4k right now, is that it showed a scene that never appeared in the full movie. According to the lore, Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin was going to meet his end at a Twin Towers-based duel with the Friendly Neighborhood Web Head. Following 9/11, though, production was forced to come up with a new ending. However, like most rumors shared before homeroom in the early 2000s, this sequence was actually never intended to be in the film at all. According to Salon, Sony Pictures used the Twin Towers for this trailer and this trailer alone–the skyscrapers were never going to be in the film at all. That's the last time I trust Devin McAllister from 6th period.

It's a somewhat chilling experience to see the Twin Towers show up onscreen again. A bit of time travel, a bit of repressed tragedy–it makes this teaser a very interesting watch indeed. And that's not even to mention the extremely 2000s style and soundtrack, featuring the song "Leave You Far Behind" by Lunatic Calm. Some parts of pop culture are best left in the past where they belong, I guess.



Dom Nero Dom Nero is a staff video editor at Esquire, where he also writes about film, comedy, and video games.

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