Spider-Man: No Way Home is almost here while rumors and fan theories continue to swing around. Could Charlie Cox’s return as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen be in the film as Peter Parker’s lawyer? Will Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield reprise their roles as Spider-Men from different universes? Is Doctor Strange possessed by Mephisto or is he Supreme Doctor Strange from What If…? We’ll have to wait until Thursday to find out what was indeed fact and fiction, but that doesn’t mean that my mind is pumping the breaks on theories anytime soon. I’ll run down some of my predictions, as well as detailing fan theories and if I think they’ll come to be or not.
First off just let me say that I guarantee that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield will both be in No Way Home. I mean, it’s only inevitable. The shot from the latest trailer where the Lizard is punched by air is definitely Garfield’s Spider-Man CGI-ed out of the trailer. The leaked photo of both Garfield and Maguire on a structure made of metal poles is the same structure scene in the trailer where the Lizard, Sandman and Electro are fighting Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, and hey, maybe a ghost since the Lizard was punched by an unseen force! We’ll find out soon enough, but I’m putting my money on the both of them appearing in some way during the film.
Image via: The Direct
An Endgame-Like Invasion
The most recent trailer ended with magical rifts forming in the sky around the Statue of Liberty, with Doctor Strange saying, "They're starting to come through, and I can't stop them." The only question is: what's on the other side? Could it be an army of monsters from the Dark Dimension? More variants of Spider-Man's enemies? Is Kang involved somehow? This could very well set up a massive invasion in the third act in the vein of Avengers: Endgame. After all, the film's director, Jon Watts, has said that this story is basically Spider-Man: Endgame.
A new TV spot showed us an extended version of this scene, where Strange uses magic similar to Wanda Maximoff from the end of the WandaVision finale where she cemented herself as the Scarlet Witch. This could mean that something sinister is coming through, and as far as we know, that could be towards the end of the film where the villains are still trapped in the magical box (prison). It could also be other Spider-Man villains, such as Venom, but thanks to the Venom: Let There Be Carnage end credits scene, it seems like Venom and Spider-Man are on the same world.
With the multiverse taking full effect in the MCU from here on out, and No Way Home being the first movie to involve the multiverse, a tease to Jonathan Majors’ Kang could be done in the film. Or at least some clarity. Rumor has had it for months now that Loki and Sylvie will both be back in this March’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. If that is the case, why not a setup to that? Revealing some of the dystopian timeline where Kang is some sort of “supreme leader” and has a statue at the TVA could be explained upon, or Loki gets out somehow and goes to Doctor Strange for help in fixing the multiverse.
Image via: Inverse
Doc Ock Joins The Spider-Men
Though Doc Ock is set up to be one of the villains in No Way Home, that doesn't mean it will be that way throughout the entirety of the film. There is a shot of him being blasted by one of Electro's lightning bolts during the Statue of Liberty battle, so he could end up joining forces with Peter in the third act. Remember, Octavius did repent at the end of Spider-Man 2, so he could do it again. Octavius is a man of science, and is a believer in what’s meant to be. He could see that him and the other villains heading back to their timeline to fix the fracture in the multiverse, is what’s meant to be and what needs to be done.
If Maguire is in the film, his Peter Parker will surely remember the change in Octavius’ ways in which he sacrificed himself to save Peter, and all of New York City, so he could vouch for him. That being said, Ock could deceive the heroes and mess something up on purpose to save himself. Maybe even staying behind in this universe as the gateway to the multiverse closes.
Image via: The Direct
Matt Murdock/Daredevil
For around a year now it’s bee rumored that Charlie Cox will return as Matt Murdock for No Way Home. Him playing the role of Peter Parker’s lawyer makes the most sense, or at least providing counsel to Peter during his presumed legal battle from the fallout of Mysterio’s death. We’ll probably see Matt in the beginning, maybe he’s palls with Happy Hogan and Happy is the one who suggests Murdock to be Peter’s lawyer to help him clear his name. If you’re a fan of the elite Netflix series Daredevil, or if you’re also familiar with the comics, you’ll know that Matt has heightened senses and can hear heartbeats, and can detect when someone’s lying or telling the truth.Seeing some sort of scene along those lines, of him being able to tell that Peter’s lying when he maybe says that he is not Spider-Man, would be amazing to see.
Having a nice one-on-one scene with Matt and Peter sharing a conversation about what it means to be a superhero, and Matt revealing that he knows Peter’s Spider-Man, and tells him that he’s Daredevil, or since it’s a soft reboot, maybe Peter inspires Matt to become Daredevil, would be a great moment. After the spell is fixed and the villains are sent back in the end, having Matt in a very early stages Daredevil costume on top of a building, maybe with Spider-Man, signaling that they might work together in a future movie, would cause myself and other Daredevil fans to possibly need medical assistance in our seats.
My ideal end credits scene would be Kingpin in his penthouse in Hell’s Kitchen where he gets word of a new superhero in town, Daredevil, and says to Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle that he wants him to take them out. Potentially setting up the now confirmed Spider-Man 4, and cementing Cox’s next movie appearance in the MCU. At the end of the day, I strongly believe that we’ll at least see Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock in No Way Home. It would be a nice piece of fan service, and a great way to set up his tenure in the MCU.
Image via: Comic Book Resources
MJ & Or Aunt May Die
At the beginning of the film, when Peter seeks Doctor Strange’s assistance in making the world forget that he’s Spider-Man, Peter wants MJ to remember, more than anything. His journey in this film might be realizing that the best way to keep her safe, will be for her to forget that he’s Spider-Man. When we see MJ in the trailer falling off of the renovated Statue of Liberty, maybe she does die, and maybe Peter, after screaming and crying for a bit, forces Strange to make another deal. Peter will allow the villains to go back to their world, and he’ll let MJ forget he’s Spider-Man… If Strange brings her back.
We see in the trailer that Strange still has the Eye of Agamotto, so he could use the Time Stone to reverse time to save MJ. Or, this could be when Mephisto makes his entrance and Spider-Man will in fact make a deal with the Devil instead. There’s a great Spider-Man story in the comics called “One More Day.” In it, Aunt May dies, and Peter makes a deal with the Devil to save her. The deal is that Mary Jane, now Peter’s wife, will forget that he’s Spider-Man, as long as Aunt May is brought back to life. The only flaw in the story is that MJ agreed to the deal which makes no sense, but it happened, and it was one of the Marvel Comics’ best stories since the 1990s. It’s also been reported numerous times, for a year now, that the film will be loosely based on “One More Day,” so it’s entirely possible that an MJ death scene could come, and then be undone by Strange, or the Devil.
Image via: The Direct
In the trailer we see Aunt May diving away as one of Green Goblin’s pumpkin bombs flies past her, we also see a shot of Spider-Man without his mask on in a similar setting with a green glow appearing on the his side as he tries to catch the bomb. Killing off May for good would be very sad, but it would also provide some sense of maturity for this Peter Parker in his efforts in becoming the best hero that he can be. Giving him this great deal of loss, AGAIN, would emotionally derail him, but with the help of possibly MJ and Ned, as well as Strange and maybe Matt Murdock, he might come out of this grief and sense of blaming himself, and be even more powerful than he ever was before.
After those two scenes in the trailer, we also see a shot of Happy looking up after an explosion outside of his vehicle and he looks both sad and in shock. Maybe May won’t die, but ends up in the hospital and by the end of the film, after the “day is saved” Peter goes to a Metro General and sees May whose maybe awoken from a coma, or is doing much better. After all, having the person closest to Peter be put in a near death situation, that would change Spider-Man and we’d see a whole different kind of character growth the wall crawler if it were to happen.
These were just my main theories and predictions for what could happen, and ones that I think have the most life to them in being real. So time will tell! But it’s safe to say that Spider-Man: No Way Home is an extremely anticipated movie of mine, and millions, if not billions, of people. You can see it this Thursday night, only in theaters.