Produced by Columbia Pictures in association with Marvel Entertainment, Arad Productions, Inc., Matt Tolmach Productions, and Ingenious Film Studios, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, the film was directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and Jeff Pinkner, based on a story conceived by the three alongside James Vanderbilt.

The film stars Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, alongside Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Campbell Scott, Embeth Davidtz, Colm Feore, Paul Giamatti, and Sally Field.

In the film, Peter Parker tries to protect his girlfriend Gwen Stacy as he investigates his parents' death while also dealing with the supervillain Electro and the return of his best friend Harry Osborn.

In the present, two years after his battle with Dr. Curt Connors,[b] Richard and Mary's son, Peter, continues to fight crime as Spider-Man and apprehends Russian criminal Aleksei Sytsevich.

However, after he forces Menken to inject him with the venom, it accelerates his illness and turns him into a goblin-like creature, but the built-in emergency protocol in an armored suit restores his health.

Meanwhile, Peter finds Richard’s secret lab in an abandoned subway station and learns he had to flee because he refused to cooperate with Norman's plans to make biogenetic weapons with his research.

Upon seeing Gwen, he deduces Spider-Man's secret identity and swears revenge for refusing the blood transfusion, taking her to the top of a large clock tower and dropping her.

[22] Marton Csokas portrays Ashley Kafka, the head of Ravencroft Institute, and B. J. Novak appears as Alistair Smythe, Dillon's boss and an Oscorp employee.

In March 2011, James Vanderbilt was hired to write the sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), after scribing the predecessor, before Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman were hired to rewrite the first draft the following year, later joined by Jeff Pinkner; screenplay credit went to Kurtzman, Orci, and Pinkner, with screen story credit given to the trio and Vanderbilt.

[35] Actor J. K. Simmons expressed interest in reprising his role as J. Jonah Jameson from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy should the studio offer it to him.

During an interview with MTV, Foxx explained that the redesign of the character would be more grounded as well as details of his depiction, which were based upon the Ultimate Marvel incarnation of Electro.

[41] Eddie Redmayne, Sam Claflin, Douglas Booth and Boyd Holbrook tested for the role of Harry Osborn while, Alden Ehrenreich and Brady Corbet were also considered.

"[52] By mid-June, Woodley's role was cut from the film, with director Webb explaining it as "a creative decision to streamline the story and focus on Peter and Gwen and their relationship.

[80] Webb and Zimmer formed a supergroup with Williams, Johnny Marr, Mike Einziger and former Eurythmic, David A. Stewart, to create the music for the sequel.

[81] Eventually, Stewart did not participate in the film's music, and the supergroup, credited as The Magnificent Six, a reference to the Sinister Six, was composed of Williams, Marr, Einziger, Junkie XL, Steve Mazzaro and Andrew Kawczynski assisting Zimmer.

Viral marketing for the film included a version of the Daily Bugle on the blogging service Tumblr, which included references to Kate Cushing, Detective Stan Carter, the "Big Man", Izzy Bunsen, Joy Mercado,[89][90] Donald Menken, the Vulture, Hydro-Man, Spencer Smythe, Ned Leeds,[91][92][93] Anne Weying, J. Jonah Jameson,[94] Shocker, Alistair Smythe, Doctor Octopus, Eddie Brock,[95] The Enforcers, and Puma.

[96][97] Marc Webb posted a photo on Twitter with a message written in Dwarven language revealing that the first trailer would debut prior to 3D screenings of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

[113] Creative agency Deckhouse Digital was hired to produce several animated GIFs ahead of the film's Blu-ray/DVD release as part of a sponsored ad campaign on Tumblr.

The site's critical consensus reads, "While the cast is outstanding and the special effects are top-notch, the latest installment of the Spidey saga suffers from an unfocused narrative and an overabundance of characters.

The Los Angeles Times said, "[The film is] overstuffed with plot lines, set pieces and villains, although stars Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone do their best to give the movie heart.

"[135] Tim Robey of The Telegraph said, "Marc Webb's Spider-Man sequel is overstuffed with high-voltage villains, but the sparks between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone save the day".

"[140] Kim Newman of Empire scored the film three out of five stars, saying: "A few too-broad gags aside—and even these are in the funky spirit of '60s Marvel—this is a satisfying second issue with thrills, heartbreak, gasps, and a perfectly judged slingshot ending.

"[141] Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter said: The eponymous hero hits his super-heroic stride here, as does Andrew Garfield in the role, especially when Spider-Man's alter ego Peter Parker learns there's always some fine print in a contract with this many benefits.

"[143] Richard Roeper gave the film a B+, stating that "It's about 20 minutes too long and it's overstuffed with too many characters and too many subplots, but there's enough good stuff in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 to warrant optimism about the next chapter of the franchise.

"[145] IGN reviewer Daniel Krupa gave 6.9/10 and wrote: Amazing Spider-Man 2 gets a lot right, yet there's a constant awkwardness to the machinery of its plot; you can almost hear the cogs turning.

However, what's worse is that at times it becomes overtly patronising: there are flashing screens and computer voice-overs constantly telling you what something is or what something is doing, just in case the people in the back rows aren't paying attention, which feels at odds with the film's emotional intelligence.

[159][160] Additionally, by August 2014, Sony had hired Lisa Joy to write the script for a 2017 female-lead film featuring Felicia Hardy / Black Cat.

[159] Following the 2014 Sony Pictures hack, Emma Stone was revealed to be in talks to return as a resurrected Stacy in the 2017 female-lead film and The Amazing Spider-Man 4 as the antagonist Carnage.

Marvel reportedly was unhappy with some of the terms of the proposed arrangement including the film rights staying with Sony and both talks allegedly ceased.

[176] No Way Home also includes a roster of villains from earlier Spider-Man films; Jamie Foxx returns as Max Dillon as portrayed in this movie (although he looks more yellow instead of blue, and his outfit at the final battle resembles more closely that of the comics), along with Willem Dafoe and Alfred Molina reprising their versions of Norman Osborn and Otto Octavius from Sam Raimi's trilogy.