The last few months have seen many fans throwing out some pretty wild theories about the outcome of certain Marvel properties, such as expecting Mephisto to turn up in pretty much everything, thinking thatLokiwas going to become someBack to the Futurestyle series with numerous old characters appearing, and many more even wilder suggestions. However, when it comes toSpider-Man: Now Way Home, the writing team of Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers appear to have been given the keys to the kingdom when it came to which characters were available to be used in the movie, and it shows as fans have not been disappointed by the movie, which is allset to become Marvel’s biggest hit sinceAvengers: Endgame.This is your only warning for MAJOR SPOILERS in the rest of the article.
When the first trailer forSpider-Man: No Way Homedropped, we were given a first look at Alfred Molina’s return to the Spider-Man world as Doc Ock, something that was not really a secret consideringthe actor had openly discussed his appearancein the film for months before we saw any footage. However, subsequent trailers went one step further to reveal the Green Goblin, Electro, The Lizard and Sandman also coming into the MCU from across the Spider-Man universes of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men, making this one of the most exciting and innovative Spider-Man movies to hit screens.
Of course, this kind of thing would not have been possible just a few years ago, with Sony and Disney/Marvel Studios seemingly walking thin ice when it came to their collaboration on theSpider-ManMCU movies. This came to a head in 2019, when it seemed that the companies were about to part ways and remove Tom Holland’s Spider-Man from the MCU forever. Thankfully that disastrous scenario was avoided and Sony and Disney seem to now have a stronger connection when it comes to their joint asset, which can only mean good things for Spider-Man fans everywhere, as has been proven in his latest adventure. What’s more, it seems that when it came to the catalog of characters in the Spider-Man canon, the writers were given whatever they wanted.
“We were taking meetings about it, and going, ‘Well, what would this movie be if it wasn’t in the MCU?'” McKenna toldVariety, with Sommers commenting, “It was like any time you have a limitation thrown on you. Then it creates possibilities and spurs all sorts of creative discussions. Fortunately, they came to their agreement before we were too far down any road, and we were able to jump right in with the old team.”
As we now know, the film not only delivers villains in abundance, but also the former Spider-Man stars Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield,Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Daredevilfrom the defunct Marvel Television series, as well as a scene with Venom in the mid-credits and quick teases of other characters such as Rhino and Kraven the Hunter. While the finale of the movie ends with most things being back to the status quo, with the “other universe” villains all being sent back to their rightful place, with the caveat that their movie endings have now supposedly been changed and they will not die at the hands of their respective Spider-Men, there is a question of what all this means for the future of the franchise.
There are many things to take away from the movie when it comes to where the MCU is heading. The arrival of Matt Murdock connects the previously separateDaredevilTV show, and we now also know that Vincent D’Onofrio hasreprised his role of Kingpin in theHawkeyeTV serieson Disney+, potentially hinting that other former stars of the Netflix series could turn up in the future. Additionally, we have amid-credit scene that sets up a new Venom in the MCU, and while the multiverse is once again corrected, we know that is not going to last. With Kevin Feige confirming that Spider-Man is far from done in the MCU, we can only wait and see where the web-slinger’s story takes him next.
