Marvel Studios / Sony Pictures
Starring Tom Holland (Peter Parker / Spider-Man), Zendaya (Michelle Jones-Watson), Jacob Batalon (Ned Leeds), Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Stephen Strange), Marisa Tomei (Aunt May Parker), Jon Favreau (Happy Hogan), Alfred Molina (Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus), Willem Dafoe (Norman Osborn / The Green Goblin), Jamie Fox (Max Dillon / Electro), Benedict Wong (Wong, The Sorcerer Supreme), Tony Revolori (Flash Thompson), Angourie Rice (Betty Brant), JK Simmons (J. Jonah Jameson), Rhys Ifans (the voice of The Lizard), Thomas Haden Church (the voice of The Sandman), with Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker / The Amazing Spider-Man, Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker / Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, and Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock, plus a mid-credits scene featuring Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock / Venom
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
Directed by Jon Watts
Produced by Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal
Written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers
Music by Jeffrey Ford and Leigh Folsom Boyd
Distributed by Sony Pictures
Run Time: 2 hours and 28 minutes
World Premier: December 13, 2021, at the Fox Village Theater in Los Angeles, California
Opening Weekend Box Office: $260 million (North America)
Worldwide Box Office: $1.8 billion
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%
Marvel Studios / Sony Pictures
Fun Spider-Man: No Way Home Facts
On August 21, 2019, Sony Pictures pulled Spider-Man out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe after discussions between Sony Pictures and Disney / Marvel Studios to extend the deal they made in 2015 completely broke down. Reports stated that Disney / Marvel Studios felt entitled to more of the Box Office take on the Spider-Man films they produce, with further reports stating that Disney was looking for a 50 / 50 split that would see the companies share the financing of the films as well as the Box Office take. This feeling was no doubt brought on by the fact that Spider-Man: Far From Home emerged as the highest-grossing film in the history of Sony Pictures, bringing in over $1 billion. Sony balked at these notions and with the talks at a standstill, the story was leaked that Spider-Man and presumably his entire supporting cast, would no longer be part of the MCU. This news sent shockwaves throughout the comic book movie fandom and threatened to dramatically change the Marvel Cinematic Universe in ways that no one wanted.
On August 24, 2019, at the D-23 Expo in Anaheim, California, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige addressed Marvel Studios’ loss of Spider-Man going forward by saying: “It was a dream that I never thought would happen. It was never meant to last forever. We knew there was a finite amount of time that we’d be able to do this, and we told the story we wanted to tell, and I’ll always be thankful for that.” Meanwhile, Tom Holland, who portrayed Peter Parker / Spider-Man within the Marvel Cinematic Universe confirmed that he would continue to portray Peter Parker / Spider-Man for Sony Pictures moving forward, citing: “The future will be very different for Spider-Man.”
On September 27, 2019, Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures announced that they had agreed upon a new deal that would (at least temporarily) keep Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe! The new deal would see Marvel Studios produce the yet-to-be-titled third Spider-Man film in exchange for the Spider-Man character appearing in one other Marvel Studios film. The third Spider-Man film was scheduled for a July 16, 2021, release.
On January 13, 2020, the first trailer for Sony Pictures’ Morbius starring Jared Leto as Morbius the Living Vampire debuted online. The trailer boasted obvious references to the Marvel Cinematic Universe that suggested it was a part of the MCU, including a Spider-Man “wanted” poster with the inscription “murderer”, in addition to an appearance by Michael Keaton in what seemed to be a reprisal of his role as Adrian Toomes / The Vulture from Spider-Man: Homecoming.
On April 24, 2020, due to the ongoing Coronavirus Pandemic, Marvel Studios announced a new release date for their yet-to-be-titled third Spider-Man film, as the movie was moved from July 16, 2021, to November 5, 2021.
Sony Pictures
On September 11, 2020, Sony Pictures announced it would not release any films on any format moving forward until the majority of the some 5,000 theaters in the United States that were closed to the COVID-19 Pandemic, were back open and capable of running at full capacity.
On October 1, 2020, reports surfaced that Marvel Studios was in final talks to cast Jamie Fox as Electro in the upcoming and yet-to-be-titled third Spider-Man film. The news fueled speculation that a potential Spider-Verse film produced by Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios could be in the works. Fox previously portrayed Electro in 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which was produced by Sony Pictures.
On October 8, 2020, Marvel Studios announced that Benedict Cumberbatch would reprise his role as Doctor Stephen Strange in the yet-to-be-titled third Spider-Man film. With Cumberbatch already slated to star in Marvel Studios’ upcoming and interestingly titled film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, many fans saw this as more evidence pointing to some sort of Multiversal story defining the next Spider-Man film.
On October 13, 2020, rumors surfaced that Sony Pictures were in talks with both Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield to potentially reprise their respective roles as Peter Parker / Spider-Man from Sony’s previous five Spider-Man films from 2002-2014 in Sony and Marvel Studios’ yet-to-be-titled third Spider-Man film. Fans worldwide were excited by the prospects of a live-action Spider-Verse plot which would bring the versions of Spider-Man portrayed by Maguire and Garfield into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while retroactively canonizing all five of their respective films.
On October 16, 2020, Marvel Studios’ and Sony Pictures’ yet-to-be-titled third Spider-Man movie commenced filming.
Sony Pictures
On November 25, 2020, reports surfaced suggesting that Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures would be bringing Alfred Molina back to reprise his role as Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus from Sony’s Spider-Man 2 within the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the yet-to-be-titled third Spider-Man film.
On December 3, 2020, Sony Pictures’ Latino YouTube channel shared the following text in promoting Sony Pictures’ and Marvel Studios’ yet-to-be-titled third Spider-Man film: “Who is your favorite Spider-Man? You don’t have to choose! In the Marvel Multiverse, anything can happen! And in Spider-Man 3, it is very possible you will see everyone. Yes! The three Peter Parker’s saving the world together.” – This obviously sent fan speculation concerning the third Spider-Man film into overdrive as it seemingly confirmed that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield would be suiting up alongside Tom Holland in the film and under the Marvel Studios banner. In related news, while promoting another upcoming film, Jamie Fox, without saying anything specific, seemed to confirm that he would be reprising his role as Electro from Andrew Garfield’s second Amazing Spider-Man film within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
On December 8, 2020, multiple sources confirmed that Alfred Molina had officially joined the cast of the upcoming third Spider-Man film produced by Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures, in a reprisal of his tole as Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus from Sony’s 2004 Spider-Man 2 film. Other sources furthermore confirmed that Andrew Garfield had joined the cast of the film in a reprisal of his role as Peter Parker / Spider-Man from Sony’s two Amazing Spider-Man films in 2012 and 2014. Even more reports stated that negotiations were ongoing to bring Tobey Maguire back as Peter Parker / Spider-Man from Sam Raimi’s 2002-2007 Spider-Man trilogy.
On December 9, 2020, reports surfaced that actor Charlie Cox had been cast for the yet-to-be-titled third Spider-Man film from Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures. Cox was rumored to be portraying Matt Murdock / Daredevil, a character he portrayed in Marvel Television’s Daredevil Streaming Series that aired on Netflix for three Seasons from 2015-2018.
On December 10, 2020, The Walt Disney Company hosted a conference call that was dubbed “Investor’s Day” in an effort to generate revenue in what had been the most challenging year in company history with the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic shutting down film and television productions, closing theaters, canceling cons and conventions, and closing theme parks. During the presentation, Kevin Feige announced a March 25, 2022, release date for the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness film, referring to the movie as a “thrilling, scary, mind-bending adventure” while furthermore confirming that the film would tie-in to the narratives of both Marvel Studios’ WandaVision series on Disney+ and the yet-to-be-titled third Spider-Man film, which Feige stated would now be released in theaters in December of 2021.
Sony Pictures
On December 14, 2020, reports surfaced suggesting that Willem Dafoe and Thomas Hayden Church would be returning for Marvel Studios’ and Sony Pictures’ third Spider-Man film, reprising their respective roles as Norman Osborn / The Green Goblin and Flint Marko / The Sandman from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man Trilogy.
On January 16, 2021, reports surfaced that actor Charlie Cox had been spotted on the set of Marvel Studios’ upcoming third Spider-Man film in the role of Matt Murdock.
On February 24, 2021, the official title of the upcoming third Spider-Man film from Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures was revealed as Spider-Man: No Way Home. Following the announcement, Tom Holland revealed that the film would mark the end of his contract with Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures but expressed interest in signing a new deal that would allow him to continue to portray Peter Parker on film for years to come.
On April 16, 2021, in what was quite frankly a startling interview, actor Alfred Molina openly confirmed his role in the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home film, confirming that he was reprising his role of Doctor Octopus from Sony’s 2004 Spider-Man 2 film, going so far as to insist that he was playing that very same character, stating that the character’s arc would pick up right where it left off in Spider-Man 2. Molina furthermore stated that his part in the film – as well as the parts of several other actors under the Multiverse premise – was the worst kept secret in Hollywood and remarked upon what a thrill it was for him to return to the role of Otto Octavius. Molina’s interview came out mere hours after more supposed leaks concerning the Spider-Man: No Way Home plot, pertaining most notably the roles of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield in the film.
Sony Pictures
On April 21, 2021, The Walt Disney Company and Sony Pictures reached a groundbreaking deal to ultimately bring all of Sony’s Spider-Man films to Disney+ where they would exist alongside other Marvel Cinematic Universe films for viewing by Disney+ subscribers. This deal was said to include not only Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home (which had been absent from Disney+ since its launch), but also Sam Raimi’s original Spider-Man Trilogy from 2002-2007, and both Amazing Spider-Man films from 2012 and 2014, in addition to Venom and upcoming titles such as Venom: Let Their Be Carnage, Morbius, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. This announcement not only set-up Spider-Man’s future within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but of course led to even more speculation concerning the introduction of some type of Spider-Verse in the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home film and the canonization of Sony’s past and future Marvel films.
On August 23, 2021: Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios released the highly anticipated first teaser trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home. The trailer did not boast many of the numerous Universe-shattering surprises that had been long rumored for the film but did seem to tease that most of the things that fans had heard rumored would turn out to be true, as Alfred Molina was shown as Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus while Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn / Green Goblin was teased. The trailer meanwhile featured lots of Tom Holland (Peter Parker), Zendaya (MJ), and Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange), including an emphasis on a plot point that would see Tom Holland’s Peter Parker reaching out to Doctor Strange for a spell that would erase the exposing of his secret identity. In other news, Sony Pictures gave their Universe of Spider-Man films a new title: Sony’s Spider-Man Universe.
On October 1, 2021, Sony Pictures’ Venom: Let There Be Carnage blew the concept of the MCU Multiverse wide open upon its theatrical release, as the film’s groundbreaking post-credits scene dropped Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock and his Venom symbiote with him, into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and upon the MCU (Sacred) Timeline. Venom: Let There Be Carnage would go on to amass over $500 million at the worldwide box office, emerging as the seventh highest grossing film of 2021, and outperforming Marvel Studios productions such as Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, and Black Widow, which were all released in 2021 as well.
On November 26, 2021, the second trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home dropped. The trailer confirmed the Multiverse as a huge plot point in the film and showed Jamie Fox’s Electro, Rhys Ifans’ Lizard, Thomas Haden Church’s Sandman, and Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin in addition to more footage of Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus.
Marvel Television / Netflix / Marvel Entertainment
On December 6, 2021, Marvel CCO Kevin Feige announced that if the Marvel Studios team were ever to bring the Matt Murdock / Daredevil character into the MCU, the character would be portrayed by actor Charlie Cox, who portrayed the popular comic book character across four streaming television shows (three of which were critically-acclaimed) produced by Marvel Television from 2015-2018: Daredevil: Season One, Daredevil: Season Two, The Defenders, and Daredevil: Season Three. Matt Murdock (as portrayed by Cox) would go on to appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home, sharing the screen with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker. Debates within the fan community as to whether or not the Netflix streaming shows were canon to the Marvel Cinematic Universe or not began to rage upon the release of No Way Home, with no one from the Marvel Studios team stepping up to settle the issue. On March 16, 2022, the entire Defenders Saga arrived on Disney+, further fueling the debate. Four months later on July 23, 2022, Marvel CCO Kevin Feige announced that Charlie Cox would star in an upcoming Disney+ series produced by Marvel Studios titled Daredevil: Born Again. In August, Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law series was released on Disney+. In the eighth episode, Charlie Cox made his second MCU appearance as Matt Murdock, suiting up as Daredevil this time around (albeit in a yellow suit). The canonicity of The Defenders Saga remained an open debate. The 2023 book Marvel Studios – The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline seemed to confirm that The Defenders Saga was not canon, as there was no mention of Matt Murdock’s history as seen in the now former Netflix shows upon the Sacred Timeline. However, on January 3, 2023, Marvel Studios Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation: Brad Winderbaum confirmed during an interview with Screen Rant that the Matt Murdock that appeared for Marvel Television from 2015-2018 and the Matt Murdock currently appearing for Marvel Studios were in fact the same person and that the events that took place during his appearances for Marvel Television did in fact happen upon the Sacred Timeline. This was further confirmed some 24-hours later when the final trailer for Marvel Studios’ Echo series featuring Cox as Daredevil, prominently featured video and audio from The Defenders Saga.
On December 7, 2021, Marvel CCO Kevin Feige officially confirmed that Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock / Venom was officially transported into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (specifically, the 616-Universe) in Sony’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
Spider-Man: No Way Home draws inspiration from several Spider-Man comic book stories, including One Moment in Time (Spider-Man goes to Doctor Strange and requests that he cast a spell to make everyone forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man), Spider-Verse (Spider-Men from throughout the Multiverse come together), One More Day (Peter Parker makes a deal with the demon Mephisto to erase his relationship with MJ in exchange for saving his Aunt May’s life), and Brand New Day (sees Peter Parker experience a soft reboot following the events of One More Day).
Spider-Man: No Way Home became the first film of the Pandemic Era to gross at least $1 billion worldwide and has been credited by many industry insiders with almost singlehandedly saving the movie theater industry. The film had the second-highest opening weekend gross of all-time, behind only Avengers: Endgame, and it did that during a Pandemic! It was the landmark 10th Marvel Studios film to gross at least $1 billion worldwide, the highest grossing film in the history of Sony Pictures, and was the highest-grossing film of 2021, webbing-up $1.8-billion, and doing so without a China release.
According to Kevin Feige, the botched spell cast by Doctor Strange in Spider-Man: No Way Home goes wrong in the way that it does due to the death of the enigmatic entity known as He Who Remains, as seen in Loki: Season One. Loki: Season Two would later reveal that the all-important Temporal Loom which makes the Sacred Timeline possible is beginning to fail due to the Branched Timeline overload. This makes the MCU 616-Universe unstable, allowing for the kind of Multiversal shenanigans we get in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The 2023 book Marvel Studios – The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline confirmed where Spider-Man: Far From Home and Spider-Man: No Way Home occur on the MCU (Sacred) Timeline, revealing that several Phase Four MCU projects actually take place before either film. The primary events seen Loki: Season One, What If …? Season One, WandaVision, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and most of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier all take place prior to the arrival of the Elementals and Peter Parker’s field trip in Spider-Man: Far From Home, which takes place in the Summer of 2024. Spider-Man: No Way Home then picks up directly where Spider-Man: Far From Home leaves off, but most of the modern scenes in Eternals take place in the Fall of 2024, prior to Peter Parker seeking out Doctor Strange for a solution to his problems. From there, the Multiversal events of No Way Home take place in the Fall of 2024 and lead directly into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Doctor Strange’s Multiversal War against The Scarlet Witch. Then, the final scene of Spider-Man: No Way Home which sees Spider-Man swinging through New York City at Christmastime occurs concurrently with most of the events seen in Hawkeye.
Marvel Studios / Sony Pictures
My Spider-Man: No Way Home Review
Spider-Man: No Way Home was a masterpiece of a film that was a long time coming in a Pandemic era that was fueled by rumors, fan theories, and speculation. Pretty much nobody wanted the deal between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures to end and once rumors began to emerge that suggested such a thing might be possible, pretty much everyone wanted to see Sony’s Spider-Verse come together in an event that would mix the past, present, and future of Spider-Man’s Cinematic journey while furthering the Spider-Man story within the MCU that began in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. To say that Marvel Studios and Sony pictures accomplished that would be a gross understatement!
Spider-Man: No Way Home met every single expectation that I had for it going in! Not only did the film give me every single thing that I hoped for, but it also gave me things that I didn’t even know that I needed! I absolutely LOVED Spider-Man: No Way Home and count it among Marvel Studios’ most elite productions, but before I get more into that, let’s just take this wonderful film from the top!
Right out the gate, I want to let you know that Spider-Man: No Way Home was my post-Pandemic return to the theater. Due to various concerns and reasons, I did not see Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, or Eternals in the theater. I didn’t see Venom: Let There Be Carnage either. In fact, the last film I’d seen in the theater was Spider-Man: Far From Home way back in July of 2019! Spider-Man: No Way Home was a motion picture however, that I just HAD to see as soon as possible, and it was pretty cool to be sitting in a movie theater with my wife and kids on opening weekend for a Marvel Studios film again! I had the pleasure of sitting amongst some really passionate MCU and Spider-Man fans and their enthusiasm made some of the big moments in this film all the more special. At times, being in the theater felt like being at a sports event with all of the cheering and applause. The only time I’ve experienced anything similar to this inside a theater was when I saw Avengers: Endgame on opening night, which was also way back in 2019.
Spider-Man: No Way Home picks up right where Spider-Man: Far From Home leaves off, which I thought was great, because Peter Parker’s identity as Spider-Man being revealed is a very big deal and I didn’t want to see this skipped-over. Thankfully, the filmmakers did anything but that. We got to see the immediate fallout of this reveal and how it affected not just Peter and MJ, but Aunt May, and Happy, and Ned as well.
All of the most important people in Peter’s life are interrogated and bullied by the Department of Damage Control at the local precinct. Peter is far too worried about everyone else to focus on his own panic and confusion, and these interrogations were a lot of fun, with Aunt May and MJ clinging to their rights and Ned sort of buckling under the pressure. Peter Parker was facing murder charges and May was facing child endangerment charges, and MJ and Ned were being labeled accomplices. They were going to need a very good lawyer.
Marvel Studios / Sony Pictures
In just one of this film’s many surprises, Peter meets with a very good lawyer: Matt Murdock – portrayed by Charlie Cox, who of course portrayed Matt Murdock / Daredevil in three seasons of Marvel Television’s Daredevil Netflix Streaming Series from 2015-2018 and in one season of The Defenders on Netflix in 2017, to widespread critical acclaim. It was absolutely surreal to see Charlie Cox sharing the screen with Tom Holland, Marisa Tomei, and Jon Favreau! My son is the biggest Daredevil fan that I know, and he literally came out of his seat when Matt Murdock showed-up, and much of the theater broke out into applause! It was an amazing moment that was worthy of being celebrated, capped off by a wonderful sequence where a person outside throws a brick through the window, only for Matt (who had his back to the window) to casually catch the object, provoking Peter to question how it was that this blind attorney managed to that, with Matt responding, “I’m a very good lawyer.”
Matt Murdoch ends up getting all of the charges against Peter dropped, but Peter’s life is still a mess. The public is divided over how to feel about this teenager suiting-up in a costume and running around the city, and this is a story that J. Jonah Jameson is not going to allow to go away. Jameson is obsessed with Spider-Man and obsessed with dragging Peter Parker’s name through the mud every chance that he can. To make matters worse, Jameson’s expose has raised his profile significantly, making his voice all the louder and his influence greater. While it was true that Peter did have his share of defenders and that some people out there actually thought that Spider-Man was a hero, the negative impact all of this sudden fame and notoriety was just about all that Peter could focus on. Peter Parker is thick-skinned though. This is a boy who more or less fought crime in his pajamas before being recruited by Tony Stark and ushered into the superhero Civil War where he fought Captain America, The Falcon, The Winter Soldier, Ant-Man, Hawkeye, and Wanda Maximoff. Parker singlehandedly conquered The Vulture, and went to Space and fought against alien invaders, including the mighty Thanos. He was erased from existence for 5-years and returned to fight as an Avenger against a Thanos Variant from a Branched Reality, suffering tragic loss in great victory with the death of his mentor Tony Stark / Iron Man. From there, Peter conquered Mysterio, and whether people wanted to believe that it was a heroic deed or not, he knew that it was. All Peter Parker had known was adversity, and he held his head high and tried to focus on the positive things in his life like his Aunt May, his best friend Ned, and his beloved girlfriend MJ.
Peter, MJ, and Ned are all in the process of trying to get into MIT after years of hard work and great determination. The trio soon discover that they’ve all been rejected, due to the public controversy that surrounds each of them. While this is a big disappointment, they all know that there are other schools, and they try to stay positive as they submit applications upon applications. They are repeatedly denied though, leaving each of them unsure of how to go forward from here.
With very sincere concern that he has ruined the futures of the love of his life and the best friend that he’s ever had, Peter decides to seek help from the only doctor that he knows that csn potentially help with something like this: Doctor Stephen Strange!
Peter ventures out to the New York Sanctum where he confusingly finds the place to be in the midst of an indoor blizzard. He is soon greeted by Wong (the new Sorcerer Supreme as it turns out) and Doctor Strange. Peter pleads his case to Strange, requesting some sort of spell that can erase the knowledge that he is Spider-Man from everyone’s minds. Strange praises Peter’s heroism and is actually very receptive to the idea, offering to help Peter undo the chaos that is now his life in any way that he can. Strange believes that he has the perfect spell for an instance such as this; a spell he has in fact used before.
Marvel Studios / Sony Pictures
Despite Wong’s objections, Doctor Strange ushers Peter downstairs where he starts to do what it is that he does. As Strange preps the spell however, Peter frantically decides that not everyone should forget he was Spider-Man, specifically name-dropping MJ, Ned, and Aunt May. A greatly annoyed Strange pleads with Peter to stop interfering with the spell, which is already off its proverbial rails. With the spell corrupted, a very concerned and irritated Strange works to contain the energy he’s conjured, and manages to do so, storing it within a magical cube. A furious Strange then orders Peter to leave and encourages him to protest the rejections of himself and his friends the old-fashioned way; a notion that in all of his chaos had failed to cross Peter’s mind.
After contacting Flash Thompson (who has written a best-selling book detailing his “friendship” and experiences with Peter Parker and Spider-Man), Peter tracks down an MIT administrator who is stuck in traffic in her car en route to the airport and pleads his case with her to reconsider the rejections of MJ and Ned. As Peter makes his case however, trouble arrives in the form of Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus, who begins terrorizing civilians and destroying vehicles with his powerful robotic arms.
This is where things begin to get really crazy, as this Doctor Octopus is not from the MCU 616 (Sacred) Timeline. He is from a different Universe; a Universe that should in fact be quite familiar to any longtime Spider-Man fan, for the Universe from which Doc Ock comes is a Universe we’d already seen on film before; 17-years earlier in fact in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2!
This was an incredible action sequence! Doctor Octopus has never looked better, and the 17-years’ worth of CGI advancement really showed! Peter suits-up in his Iron Spider armor and takes the fight to Octavius. Otto proves to be quite formidable though, and after briefly being taken aback by what he identifies as Peter’s new suit, Otto absorbs its nanotechnology into his mechanical arms, increasing their power, but likewise rendering his arms under Peter’s control. There is a great moment here where Otto unmasks Peter and then utters the words “You’re not Peter Parker”, and Peter’s rescue of the MIT administrator from certain doom leads to her labeling Peter a hero and vowing to work on behalf of Spider-Man and his friends to get them into MIT.
Peter had won two battles on this afternoon, but the fight was not over. Moments after Peter detains Octavius, another entity arrives upon the scene, tossing an explosive pumpkin bomb and riding in on a glider and wearing a green armored suit. Peter has just met The Green Goblin; yes, the same green Goblin from Sam Raimi’s 2002 Spider-Man film, complete with Willem Dafoe reprising the role 19-years later!
Marvel Studios / Sony Pictures
Doctor Strange whisks Peter and Octavius away from the scene, bringing them back to the New York Sanctum, where Peter tries to describe his encounter with what he hilariously calls a “green elf.” Strange locks Otto within a cell, right next to an enormous Lizard creature that Strange had captured roaming the sewers. From there, Strange explains that the corrupted spell he’d cast had breached the Multiverse, something that he deduced when he encountered and fought the Lizard creature. The Lizard, Doc Ock, and apparently the green elf are all from Alternate (Cinematic) Universes and they’d arrived in Parker’s Universe due to their knowing that Peter Parker is Spider-Man in the Universes from whence they came. Strange reasons that there will be more Multiversal Visitors and stresses the importance of apprehending them as quickly as possible so that they can be sent back to their Universes before the 616-Universe is damaged beyond repair.
Peter promises to make things right by Strange but insists he will need some help and sets out to recruit MJ and Ned to the cause, bringing them back to the New York Sanctum. Strange orders the three teenagers to stay focused and to work quickly, or more accurately to “Scooby Doo this shit! … Please.”
Just being there at the Sanctum is a surreal experience for MJ and Ned though, and they are (like Peter) blown away by the mere concept of the Multiverse and these “Visitors.” Peter, MJ, and Ned have some fun harassing the Visitors, and Octavius is taken aback by Peter’s description of the Goblin that he’d encountered, assuring everyone that this is impossible, because Osborn is already dead in the Universe from whence, they came (impaled by his own glider). This leaves everyone involved quite confused and sets them up for the reveal that both The Lizard and Doc Ock, while being from Alternate Universes, are not from the same Universe. The Lizard too was from a Universe however that had been previously featured on-film: this one in Marc Webb’s 2012 film The Amazing Spider-Man!
Nonetheless, Peter ventures out for the hunt, receiving some magical upgrades to his suit (which he is now wearing inside-out after being splashed by an angry citizen with green paint which stained his red-and-blue suit) courtesy of Strange. Peter’s suit appears black-and-gold, but the enhancements from Strange make this suit one of his most capable yet.
From there, Peter sets out to locate and apprehend any more Multiversal Visitors that may be out there, and soon encounters two more: an energy-manipulating entity named Electro and an entity comprised of sand that boasts the power to manipulate sand: The Sandman! Electro is from The Lizard’s Universe, with the character having previously appeared in 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, also directed by Webb. The Sandman meanwhile is from the same Universe from which Doc Ock and The Goblin came; prominently featured in 2007’s Spider-Man 3, directed by Sam Raimi.
Marvel Studios / Sony Pictures
A sort of handicap showdown ensues, with Peter coming out on top after getting help from The Sandman, after which he successfully returns the Multiversal Visitors to the New York Sanctum where they are imprisoned alongside The Lizard and Doc Ock.
The following morning, Peter receives a call from Aunt May urging him to come to the F.E.A.S.T. Shelter where she works. There, Peter locates the elusive Green Goblin, who is unarmed and frail, while being oblivious to where he is and why. Norman Osborn has come to the shelter in search of Peter Parker, believing that he can help him figure out how and why this had happened to him. He is scared and confused, especially after discovering that in this strange new world that he’d found himself in, no version of either Oscorp or Norman Osborn exists.
Aunt May encourages Peter to help Osborn, and Peter takes Norman to the New York Sanctum where he is locked-up alongside The Lizard, Doc Ock, Electro, and The Sandman. This scene is pure gold as the Multiversal Visitors all talk with each other (and yes, even The Lizard can speak, as it turns out). The fun quickly turns to confusion however, after the visitors figure out that they were pulled from their respective Universes moments before their deaths. This means that returning them to those Universes will be a death-sentence!
Strange does not hesitate to begin preparing his spell regardless, but Peter beckons Strange to reconsider, suggesting they find a way to cure each of the Visitors. Strange argues that their deaths are their fate, but Peter defiantly commandeers the boxed spell that Strange had previously cast.
This leads to Spider-Man vs Doctor Strange, and this fight is way more than the trailers teased with that Soul Punch shot that knocked Peter Parker’s spirit out of the Spider-Man suit (which somehow remained somewhat sentient, much to Strange’s dismay). This is a fierce and visually stunning showdown that ends with Peter trapping Strange within the Mirror Dimension.
Marvel Studios / Sony Pictures
Peter is pleasantly surprised that he’s been able to defeat Doctor Strange in a fight, and he reconvenes with Ned (whom he gifts Strange’s Sling Ring), MJ, and Aunt May, and frees the Multiversal Visitors from Strange’s cell, taking them to Happy Hogan’s apartment where he hopes to devise a cure for their respective conditions.
Taking advantage of some lingering Stark Tech that Happy had stowed away at his place, Peter successfully devises a cure, using it on Doctor Octopus and returning the mental control of Otto’s arms back to Otto himself (up to this point, the mechanical arms had been controlling him). Otto instantly emerges as the kinder, more noble and compassionate man that he’d been before the arms took him over. Otto then returns the nanotechnology that he’d stolen from Peter, restoring the Iron Spider suit while thanking Parker for his determination and his own kindness. From there, Otto, Norman, and Peter work together to develop serums that will cure the other Visitors. As the work commences however, Peter’s Spider-Sense (or tingle if you will), goes off in such a powerful way that Peter is both startled and greatly concerned. Knowing that he is in imminent danger, but unaware of from whom or how, Peter gathers his composure and concentrates in an effort to determine the cause, soon realizing that the threat is from Norman Osborn!
Osborn’s Green Goblin persona had reemerged, and Norman declares to the other Multiversal Visitors that their conditions aren’t curses; they are gifts that make them as gods. Inspired, Electro (now boasting an Arc Reactor) assaults Doc Ock, and Spider-Man wages a fierce war against The Goblin that rages throughout the building. The Goblin soon overpowers Spider-Man and prepares to kill Peter, but Parker is saved by an assist from his Aunt May, who injects Osborn with the cure that had been devised for him. In a moment of true terror for the Parker’s, the serum has no effect on Osborn, and they realize that The Goblin had been in control all along, having purposefully contrived a bogus serum. The Goblin then calls his Glider to him, and Peter’s Aunt May is impaled by the Glider. Osborn then tosses a Pumpkin Bomb at the Parker’s and mades an escape.
It isn’t long from there that a badly injured Peter Parker realizes that his Aunt May has suffered a mortal wound courtesy of Osborn. As May fades in and out of coherence, she manages to endorse Peter’s heroism and assures him that trying to help the Visitors was not only the right thing to do, but that it was his responsibility as Spider-Man to do so. She then utters the words “With great power, there must also come great responsibility” before dying in Peter’s arms.
There is little time for mourning, as law enforcement arrives upon the scene, looking to arrest Spider-Man. Happy Hogan arrives upon the scene as well and is grief-stricken by the sight of Peter hovering over his aunt’s lifeless body. Happy screams for Peter to run as police began firing at Spider-Man, and that’s what Peter does. He runs, consumed with grief, and leaving his dear aunt’s corpse behind.
Marvel Studios / Sony Pictures
The incident that led to May Parker’s death is exploited, if not flaunted by J. Jonah Jameson, which alerts MJ and Ned to the fact that Peter’s beloved aunt has passed away. Knowing that Peter is alone and grieving, Ned decides to try to use Doctor Strange’s Sling Ring to open a portal, uttering words of instruction to “Find Peter Parker.” Sure enough, Ned successfully opens a portal through which Spider-Man walks … Only, it isnn’t their Spider-Man! In a moment that elicited tears from my eyes along with the biggest and probably goofiest smile, Spider-Man pulls off his mask to reveal another Peter Parker that longtime Spider-Man fans were well aware of! It was the Peter Parker from Marc Webb’s two The Amazing Spider-Man films, complete with Andrew Garfield reprising his role!!! My theater was SO loud with cheers, I wasn’t sure exactly what Andrew’s Parker said when he arrived, but it basically boiled down to him having to prove to Ned and MJ that he had Spider-Powers like their Peter did, which Andrew did, even going so far as to remove cobwebs from the ceiling by crawling atop it.
Convinced, Ned tries once more to “Find Peter Parker”, and in doing so, happens upon another Spider-Man from an Alternate Universe: the Peter Parker from Sam Raimi’s three Spider-Man films, complete with Tobey Maguire reprising his role! Yes, once again, tears and smiles resulted, and the theater exploded in cheers. This was absolutely incredible!
Having found two different Spider-Men from two different Universes, Ned and MJ finally locate their Peter Parker, who’d gone to his and MJ’s escape spot to getaway and gather his thoughts. Ned and MJ greet Peter and do their best to comfort him, after which the two other Spider-Men greet Peter as well! This sequence was so very satisfying and so neat! This was like a dream come true and it felt very, very surreal to see Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire on-screen at the same time, all as Peter Parker. Initially, this coming together of Spider-Men checked all of the emotional boxes, as Tobey and Andrew tried to encourage Peter to pull himself up and continue down the path of being a hero, revealing that they’d experienced similar things and losses, and could relate to how he was feeling in that moment. “With great power, there must also come great responsibility” came back around again, and it was this line, uttered from Aunt May and that had been uttered by Tobey and Andrew’s respective Uncle Ben’s, that hit home with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, and provoked him to pull himself together and get back to work on a cure for the Visitors – with one exception. Norman Osborn / The Green Goblin had to die!
From there, the filmmakers had a lot of fun with these three Spider-Men existing in the same place at the same time, and they did so in all the right ways. We get to hear the Amazing Spider-Man talk about the late Gwen Stacy, and we get to hear the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man talk about his beloved MJ (Mary Jane), and we get to hear them talk about their respective powers and their respective villains. We learn that Tobey’s Peter eventually worked things out with Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane Watson, and we learned that Andrew’s Peter went to a very dark place following the death of Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy, where, as he put it, he “stopped pulling his punches.” We also get to see Andrew and Tom harass Tobey over his organic webbing! Andrew Garfield pretty much stole these scenes for me with his humility and self-deprecating humor. I just adored him, and this was a really big deal for me as a fan, because I really liked Andrew as Spider-Man, and for me personally, 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man was actually my favorite Spider-Man movie going into this film. So, it was so cool to see him back in this role and in the MCU for me. I just could not get enough of him here!
Together, the three Spider-Men combine their efforts to develop the cures for each of their respective villains and then set out together to confront the Multiversal Visitors. As the battle commences, The Sandman and The Lizard are both cured, reverting back to Flint Marko and Doctor Connors respectively. Doc Ock then provides an assist and cures Electro, reverting him back to Max Dillon. Meanwhile, Ned frees Doctor Strange from the Mirror Dimension, and he joins the fight, but The Green Goblin takes things to a new level of urgency when he frees Strange’s previously contained original spell. This causes a ripple throughout the Multiverse, offering several entities from other Realities the opportunity to cross over into the Prime MCU (Sacred) Timeline. While Strange works desperately to contain the spell, Tom’s Peter Parker catches-up to Osborn and in a really powerful scene, proceeds to begin to beat Osborn to death. All the while, Osborn is laughing and provoking Parker (and Willem Dafoe in this scene was beyond amazing), maniacally trying to get Spider-Man to cross that line from which there would be no return. Osborn wants Spider-Man to kill him, just for the effect he knows that it will have on the boy, and Peter is determined to do just that in order to avenge his Aunt May, and I believe that he would have … had it not been for Tobey’s Peter Parker, who jumps in and stops Peter just before he delivers the killing blow. The Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is stabbed by Osborn for his efforts, but the message gets through to our Peter Parker and instead of murdering The Goblin, Tom’s Peter injects him with the cure.
Marvel Studios / Sony Pictures
In the meantime, Andrew’s Spider-Man takes a huge step towards personal redemption when he rescues a free-falling MJ and prevents the young girl’s death. What an amazing moment for the character, who lost the love of his life under similar circumstances!
With more incoming Multiversal Visitors and needing desperately to stop it, Peter beckons Doctor Strange to cast a spell that will erase him from everyone’s memory in order to stop the chaos. Strange tries to warn Peter of what this will mean, and Ned and MJ plead for him not to do it, but Peter already knows what it will mean, and he is willing to go through with it, nonetheless. Again, thick skin!
Doctor Strange casts the spell and Peter and MJ share one final kiss, and all of the Multiversal Visitors are returned to their proper respective Universes. The war is won, but no one within the MCU 616-Universe have any memory of Peter Parker. It is in fact, now as if Peter Parker has never existed. This is shown when Peter visits his Aunt May’s grave and Happy Hogan shows up with no memory of who he is, and again later, when he visits MJ at work and neither she nor Ned remember him.
Peter had written a carefully worded speech to share with MJ, but upon seeing how happy she and Ned were and more specifically, a bandage on MJ’s head, Peter realizes that for the first time in a long time, the love of his life and the best friend that he has ever had are safe. And they are safe because he isn’t in their lives. In a moment of true heroism and selflessness, Peter solemnly decides against telling MJ or Ned anything that he had planned to tell them, and instead walks out of their lives and embarks upon an entirely new beginning for Spider-Man, who had made for himself an entirely new suit.
The mid-credits scene of Spider-Man: No Way Home catches-up with Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock / Venom, who was teleported into the MCU during a credits scene in Sony’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Eddie is still in Mexico, trying to come to terms with the new world that he’d so suddenly found himself in, and after vowing to venture out to meet Spider-Man, Eddie is returned to his home Universe, courtesy of Strange’s spell. Eddie does, however, leave behind a small piece of the Venom symbiote, which remains in the MCU 616-Universe!
Marvel Studios / Sony Pictures
I can’t praise Spider-Man: No Way Home enough. This was an incredible effort from everyone involved from Marvel Studios to Sony Pictures, to Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire, etc. These efforts were as bold as theywere ambitious! This film had every reason to fail and there were so many things that could have gone wrong, but somehow, someway, it all … worked! The narrative was easy to follow and the how’s and why’s of it all made sense. The writing was perfect, and the directing was top-notch. From there, it was a combination of fan-service, nostalgia, and incredible acting that defined this film. Again, this was upper echelon MCU stuff for me; not only my favorite Spider-Man film ever, but only behind Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War on my list of favorite MCU films. Again, this was a masterpiece!
As good as everyone was in this film, I think Willem Dafoe was the character that most stole the show for me. His performance proved right the longstanding fan belief that it was a bad move in 2002’s Spider-Man to put him behind a mask. Dafoe just has this remarkable ability to tell a story with his facial expressions alone, and he was allowed to go all-in with that in this movie, arriving in the MCU 616-Universe with his mask on, but quickly destroying it. I loved Dafoe as both the frightened and timid Osborne and the maniacal and murderous Goblin! His final fight against Tom Holland’s Peter Parker will go down as the stuff of legend within the comic book movie community and Dafoe delivered the villainous performance of a lifetime!
Next, I have to praise Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus. Nothing was really changed here, for nothing really needed to be. Molina was already an icon within the fandom for his stellar performance in Spider-Man 2, and he more so than any other character felt like he walked straight out of that movie into this one. He was both frightening and inspiring in this film, and his reunion with Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker was really special!
Jamie Fox as Electro was a major win also! Not many people came out of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as a fan of Electro, nor of Fox’s performance, but Fox made it clear in No Way Home that he could bring it as Electro if afforded the opportunity and that’s what this was for him: a second chance. Electro had some of the funniest lines in this movie, and Jamie Fox’s delivery of those lines was wonderful. I especially enjoyed his exchanges with The Lizard.
I thought that both Marisa Tomei and Zendaya delivered their best performances in the MCU in No Way Home. Peter and MJ’s love was worth cheering for and felt genuine throughout the film. Aunt May’s death meanwhile will be another moment that defines this film for years to come. It was so very sad, and Marisa Tomei was great.
Marvel Studios / Sony Pictures
That being said, I can’t leave out Tom Holland! Despite all of the surprises and cameos and whatnot, it was Tom Holland that was truly carrying this movie on his back. It was he who had to boast the right chemistry with each of his co-stars and who had to deliver the raw emotion, the youthful exuberance, and the pace of the many action sequences that he was in. Tom Holland was this film’s heart and its soul. Beyond all of the bells and whistles, Tom Holland was the foundation of this movie, and in a Spider-Man movie where he shared the screen with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, Tom Holland came out looking like the best Peter Parker and the best Spider-Man that we have ever seen.
I know Marvel Studios got a lot of backlash over what fans saw as them trying to make Spider-Man the next Iron Man; or “Tony Stark Junior”, but as it turns out Spider-Man really was the next Iron Man. Not because of his mastering of Stark Tech or the fact that Tony was his mentor, but because he has come out of this film positioned as the hero that the MCU’s future can be built upon. We’ve seen this boy grow into adulthood and come into his own as a hero, and with Iron Man off the table, there is no better character and no better actor than Spider-Man and Tom Holland to emerge as the new face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This film was both a fitting conclusion to Peter’s high school years and an exciting new beginning as the character moves forward. Hopefully, we will be able to see Tom Holland’s Peter Parker go to college, make new friends, and encounter some new enemies! Infact, I for one would be all for a second trilogy!
Marvel Studios / Sony Pictures
Highlights of Spider-Man: No Way Home:
Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man
Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker / The Amazing Spider-Man
Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker / The Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn / The Green Goblin
Alfred Molina as Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus
Jamie Fox as Max Dillon / Electro
Marisa Tomei as Aunt May
Zendaya as Michelle Jones-Watson
Charlie Cox is Matt Murdock
MCU Spider-Man vs The Green Goblin!
Iron Spider vs Doctor Octopus!
Spider-Man vs Doctor Strange!
The Tragic Death of Aunt May
Improved Looks of Electro and The Green Goblin
With Great Power, There Must also come Great Responsibility
Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker Rescues MJ
Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker saves the life of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker
Mid-Credits Scene featuring Tom Holland’s Eddie Brock / Venom
Marvel Studios / Sony Pictures
Notable MCU Concepts and Characters Introduced:
Sorcerer Supreme Wong. The Machina de Kadavus. Alternate Universe Versions of Norman Osborn / The Green Goblin, Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus, Flint Marko / The Sandman, and Peter Parker / Spider-Man from the Sam Raimi films that were produced by Sony Pictures from 2002-2007. Alternate Universe Versions of Doctor Curt Connors / The Lizard, Max Dillon / Electro, and Peter Parker / Spider-Man from the Marc Webb films that were produced by Sony Pictures from 2012-2014. Matt Murdock.
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