Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is in trouble! Not only does the entire world know his secret—that he’s actually teen school kid Peter Parker—but according to the newest trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home, he’s created a multiversal collapse by trying to rectify that fact. The MCU has long teased the Multiverse, but in 2021 it’s become canon and a key part to the future of the franchise. For a lot of fans it means one thing: that they’ll finally get to see three of the most iconic Spider-Man actors ever, Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland, in the same film. While that’s pretty likely, the newest No Way Home trailer got us thinking about how that massive rumor might be a bit of a distraction from a much bigger secret! Here’s what No Way Home‘s multiverse-cracking could have in store.
So Will Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield Be in No Way Home?
This is the biggest question. While our gut points to yes, we have yet to actually have an official confirmation. And that makes sense. This would be a huge “surprise” for Marvel Studios, even if fans are already all over it. But it’s the rumor that has dogged No Way Home since it was first announced and seems very likely as the MCU Multiverse hits New York City. But seeing as fans have been so concerned about these particular cameos they might have been missing the potential for something that could have much bigger ramifications. And that could introduce a LOT more characters.
What Is a Bigger Secret Than All Three Spider-Mans Appearing in No Way Home?
One thing the new trailer establishes is that we’re getting “visitors from every universe.” How is it happening? Well, the botched spell that Doctor Strange—or someone posing as Strange—cast caused a rift. This is how we’re seeing all those previous Spider-Man villains. It’s also potentially how the other Spider-Mans would enter the MCU. But there’s a moment later in the trailer that makes us think they won’t be the only ones. In a scene that shows Steven and Peter looking very bedraggled and seemingly post some of the other action in the trailer, huge purple lines tear through the sky. “They’re starting to come through and I can’t stop them,” Strange yells to Peter. We know Peter isn’t there when the first villains arrive as Steven has to explain what’s going on after the fact. So this got us thinking…
It’s clear that Spider-Man: No Way Home is going to lead into the Multiverse of Madness. So what if what we’re seeing when Strange is trying to hold back those Kang-esque purple rifts in the sky is actually multiple universes colliding? Instead of just getting the three Spider-Mans and the Sony Spidey villains, we think that we could see some other big cameos in No Way Home. Patrick Stewart as Xavier, Ian McKellen as Magneto, heck even Chris Evans as Johnny Storm.
This may not mean MCU versions of the Fantastic Four or X-Men, yet… But having a quick bombardment of cameos as the universes collide would let Marvel have a big fan service moment without committing a whole movie to it. And then it would make sense that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness would focus on cleaning up the mess that Steven and Peter made in No Way Home.
If We Do Get No Way Home Super-Cameos From the Likes of the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and More… What Does It Mean for the MCU?
So if Disney decides to splurge on all the properties that they now own, it would be a big shake up for the MCU. The streamlined universe has long been a singular space constricted by legal issues and rights that were sold before Disney took over the company. Now that’s all changed. If they were so inclined, we could see iterations of the Fantastic Four, X-Men, Man-Thing, and all the other Marvel properties that were once licensed elsewhere. For the sake of simplicity, it’s likely that Disney will use those previous iterations like DC. Marvel’s biggest competitor has long had multiple versions of characters in movies, TV, and elsewhere that are explained away with the Multiverse. So it would be easy for the MCU to do the same. Plus they’re already doing it with the Sony Spider-Man properties. So why not throw in a few more?
Using No Way Home as a way to do this via cameos is a quick and easy way of introducing the concepts of these characters without a ton of origin movies. We know they exist in other universes so they can exist in the main MCU. A very simple in to later introducing an MCU Fantastic Four team, an MCU X-Men team, and more. Plus, it’ll give Strange, Peter, and probably Wanda something to do in the Multiverse of Madness. While the Spider-villains are great foes for one film, we’re going to need more universes to explore in that upcoming film. So why not introduce them in the final act of No Way Home via the multiverse? It would be a true twist, one that Marvel managed to keep secret while hiding behind our obsession with the Spider-Mans…
Featured Image: Marvel Studios
