Spider-Man: No Way Home (NWH) is arguably one of the most anticipated movies of 2021. Its trailer smashed the record with 355.5 million views, which was previously held by Avengers: Endgame (2019), one of its Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) predecessors.
So, what’s all the hype about? What makes this particular movie bigger than one of the biggest ensemble superhero movies of all time? And why are there so many characters?
Luckily, your favorite Spider-fan is here to help you answer all of your burning questions. But, warning: ahead are spoilers for previous Marvel movies and possible spoilers for NHW, as we’ll go over some popular fan theories!
How does the movie start?
Based on the trailers, it looks like NWH takes place following the end credit sequence of Spider-Man: Far from Home (FFH). If you don’t remember what happened, it’s revealed to the world that the secret identity of the famous Spider-Man is a kid from Queens named Peter Parker. This revelation comes from a video shared by fictional Internet show host J. Jonah Jameson displaying friend-turned-villain Mysterio spilling Peter’s secret. But outing Spidey’s identity isn’t all that’s shown — so is a falsely edited clip of Peter ordering a drone attack on innocent citizens.
So, not only is the secret out, but Spider-Man is now Public Enemy No. 1 for “killing” Mysterio (but are we sure he’s really dead? Does anyone ever really die in a Marvel movie?) and for commanding drones to nearly destroy England.
After watching the trailer, it seems like Peter is trying his best to hide from the public and find a way to not just clear his name, but entirely reverse what happened.
That’s where Doctor Strange, aka Sorcerer Supreme, aka Stephen Strange, comes in. Stephen and Peter met in Avengers: Infinity War while trying to take down Thanos, the universe’s ultimate villain, as a part of “Team Space.” It seems like Peter believes Stephen’s past knowledge of time and space can help him fix his current predicament.
Peter asks Stephen to cast a spell that would make everyone forget that Peter is Spider-Man. But, while Stephen is trying to make the spell, Peter keeps disrupting the process by mentioning people that he wants to remember him, causing Stephen to lose his concentration. This results in the opening of the multiverse.
What exactly is the multiverse?
FFH teased the multiverse when Peter first met Mysterio. Mysterio claimed that he was from another universe where the Elementals (fake creatures made by drone projections) destroyed his world, so he came to Peter’s world to help stop them from destroying another. The specific mention occurred when an excited Peter said, “I’m sorry, you’re saying there’s a multiverse? Because I thought that was just theoretical.”
It turns out that at that point in the MCU, there was no confirmed multiverse. However, in the television show Loki (2021), the multiverse is confirmed by an all-knowing character at the edge of the universe called He Who Remains, and it is opened by Sylvie, a “deviant” version of Loki from another world.
Basically, the multiverse is a conglomeration of all the alternate realities that exist within our own universe. Think of it like a parallel universe. This plot opportunity opened the door for previous Spider-Man movie villains to appear in NWH.
Who’s going to be in the movie?
Our lead in this movie is Tom Holland’s version of Spider-Man. We also meet see familiar faces of Zendaya’s MJ, Jacob Batalon’s Ned Leeds, Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May, Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan and Benedict Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange.
But there will also be characters from previous, non-MCU movies making appearances.
From Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man trilogy, Alfred Molina is back to portray Doctor Octopus, aka Doc Ock. Also from Maguire’s trilogy is Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin and Thomas Hayden Church’s Sandman.
There are also villains from Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man movies. Jaime Foxx returns as Electro (with a brand-new look) and Rhys Ifans returns as the Lizard.
Will all three Spider-Men be in the movie?
While it has not been confirmed by any trailers or posters, many fans are convinced that we will have a Maguire, Garfield and Holland interaction. The actors have been vehemently denying it, but a leaked Twitter video showed the three together wearing each of their respective suits. This past September, Garfield claimed on The Tonight Show that it was photoshop, but most fans are calling his bluff. We’ll have to wait and see!
How will this movie impact the rest of the MCU?
It seems like the MCU is about to fully enter its multiverse phase, with Loki opening the multiverse, NWH dealing with the consequences of the open multiverse and next year’s Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (MoM) closing the multiverse. The events of NWH will directly lead to MoM, which will be released in May.
What should I watch before going to see NWH?
You definitely need to have seen Spider-Man: Homecoming and FFH, the previous two movies in this trilogy, before going to NWH. I recommend having a Spider-Man movie marathon to watch the three Tobey Maguire movies, two Andrew Garfield movies and two Tom Holland movies just so you get all the context for this anticipated Holland conclusion.
If you want to go the extra mile, you can also watch Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame so you know that you’ve seen NWH’s characters in every MCU film that they’ve appeared in. Spider-Man: No Way Home premieres in theaters on Dec. 17.