Spider-Man: No Way Home has finally dropped its official poster and first teaser trailer. From what we see in those scant minutes, the third — possibly last — instalment to the series will be full of action as well as memorable references to the comics and older Spidey movies, villains included. But it also showed some interesting details that we've yet to see in any Spider-Man film. Read on to find out our plot predictions for the upcoming film.
Doc Ock, Electro, and Green Goblin are making their villainous comebacks
The Spider-Man comics and previous movies have had Doc Ock as one of the main antagonists in Peter Parker's story. In the MCU, the eight-legged mechanical genius has yet to make an appearance. At least, until now.
We're given a glimpse of the film's antagonist after he springs up from one of the "portals" to another Spidey universe. Interestingly enough, he seems to know of Peter Parker's alter-ego, going so far as to greet him by name upon first sight. One of our plot predictions is that this is the original Doc Ock from the first Spider-Man trilogy because it is played by the same actor (Alfred Molina). How will that give the villain an advantage over the young hero? We can't wait to find out.
Another familiar Spidey antagonist that will make an appearance is Electro (played by Jamie Foxx), who was last seen in The Amazing Spider-Man (2014). We may also be meeting the Green Goblin (played by Willem Defoe) whose signature green bombs made an appearance in the trailer. Update: The new Spider-Man: No Way Home official poster shows Willem Defoe's Green Goblin with his signature mask and glider as well as Sandman's (played by Thomas Haden Church in Spider-Man 3) whirlpools of sand in the background.
We're starting immediately after Far From Home
Tom Holland's Peter Parker had his identity unmasked by the previous movie's antagonist, Mysterio a.ka. Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal). Now, he has to juggle being a high school student, his vigilante sideline, and newfound notoriety as a misunderstood teenaged superhero. Not to mention, he also has a budding relationship with MJ (played by Zendaya).
Because of the way the last movie ended, with Peter being framed for Mysterio's death and the destruction of property across Europe, the worlds of Peter Parker and Spider-Man now collide and our hero has to prove his innocence and good intentions to the world. There isn't any significant time jump, it seems, but this can be proven false with the introduction of other familiar Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) characters.
Stephen Strange comes to help... kinda
This is now a Doctor Strange in sweatpants stan account #SpiderManNoWayHome pic.twitter.com/4vNZlfj2ao
— Nerdist (@nerdist) August 24, 2021
The trailer also showed Peter reuniting with Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and wishing to remove all knowledge of his true identity as Spider-Man. Dr. Strange agrees to cast a spell, yet everything goes haywire when Peter realises his loved ones will also forget his superhero identity. He accidentally ruins the spell, while it’s unclear how he did so. Cue the collapse of the multiverse and the appearance of familiar villains from the comics and previous films — but more on that later.
Stephen Strange's out-of-character decisions really caught our attention. Previous films show him as steadfastly trying to preserve the various timelines and universes yet when Peter Parker asks for him to essentially change the past, the typically aloof doctor-slash-warlock agrees without hesitation and a touch of humour. Not to mention his weirdly casual sweatpants and jumper get-up seems almost too casual, at least based on his previous characterisation in the MCU. So is this the true Stephen Strange or someone posing as him?
To Dr. Strange's benefit, he seems to be imparting an important lesson to Peter as well. With Peter’s wish to live two separate lives, he managed to create bigger problems with graver consequences. As Dr. Strange ominously said in the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer, "Be careful what you wish for." Truer words have never been spoken.
Expanding the multiverse
The MCU has been expanding its intricate plot lines to weave together across films for years but the recent addition of Disney+ series such as Loki and WandaVision have given us a glimpse of how far they can still push the concept of an interconnected multiverse. Dr. Strange’s sequel film, titled Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, will also explore alternate realities.
We've already seen a hint of this in Spider-Man: Far From Home when Mysterio claimed — or lied — that he's from another world. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse was a blatant showcase of the different iterations of the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man. So it's not surprising that the third film will expand on the concept. There were even rumours that previous Spider-Man actors, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, would make a cameo in the film. While this has yet to be confirmed, the addition of new worlds opens up the possibility of new Spider-Man films or TV series in the future. Are you for or against this direction?
There's still a lot of questions left to be answered. Until we see another trailer, we're only left to speculate on the true direction the film will take. But we'll have to wait a little longer, since Spider-Man: No Way Home isn't set to premiere until 17 December this year.
(Cover photo from: @spidermanmovie)
For more film predictions, read our reaction to Amazon Prime’s Cinderella remake.
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