Ever since Jamie Foxx and Alfred Molina were cast to reprise their roles as Spidey villains from previous incarnations of the franchise in the MCU’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, the internet has been abuzz with all kinds of theories about who might appear. It’s possible that Kevin Feige just liked their takes on the roles of Electro and Doctor Octopus, respectively, and brought them back to play new versions of the characters in the MCU continuity.
But since Doctor Strange is set to make an appearance and the MCU is leaning heavily into the multiverse, it’s within the realm of possibility that No Way Home will overtly connect to the previous Spider-Man franchises. This could either be a good idea or a terrible one.
Should: It Would Be A Lot Of Fun
Right off the bat, including Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men in Spider-Man: No Way Home would undeniably be a lot of fun.
Ultimately, the reason why audiences flock to see Marvel movies is that it’s a pretty safe bet they’ll have fun watching it. Three different Peter Parkers facing off against the Sinister Six would be a spectacle to behold.
Shouldn’t: It Might Get Too Weird And Meta
Mixing all the Spider-Man franchises together might get too weird and meta. Diehard fans would get it, but more casual moviegoers who aren’t up to speed on the inner workings of the franchise might be confused.
The MCU is already facing one meta challenge in explaining how Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool is crossing over from one fictional universe to another due to a real-world corporate merger.
Should: Marvel’s Biggest Risks Are Its Greatest Achievements
Whenever Marvel has taken a big swing, it’s resulted in their greatest achievements. From taking a chance on the Guardians of the Galaxy to making the third Thor movie as a wacky comedy, Marvel’s biggest risks have always yielded its biggest payoffs.
Now that the MCU has established a pretty rigid formula, the stories that think outside the box and do things differently are the most celebrated. A Spider-Man crossover would certainly be ambitious.
Shouldn’t: Overstuffed Plots Are A Common Problem With Comic Book Movies
One of the most common problems with superhero movies is that they try to do too much. Spider-Man 3 had one too many villains all rolled into one.
If Spider-Man: No Way Home incorporates two other Peter Parkers into the MCU’s own Peter’s struggle to clear his name, it might end up biting off more than it can chew.
Should: It Would Make Up For Far From Home’s Multiverse Tease
Arriving hot on Endgame’s heels, the trailers for Spider-Man: Far From Home teased that the multiverse had been ripped open by all the Infinity Stone-powered finger-snaps. Then, the movie itself revealed the multiverse to be an elaborate lie concocted by illusionist Quentin Beck.
Spidey’s “stealth suit” was even teased to be Spider-Man Noir in the trailers. Blending all the Spider-Man live-action franchises together would be a great way to make up for Far From Home’s unfulfilled multiverse tease.
Shouldn’t: Into The Spider-Verse Stole Its Thunder
While a movie about multiple versions of Spider-Man traveling across the multiverse to team up against a common enemy sounds great, it already exists.
The animated masterpiece Into the Spider-Verse mixed Miles Morales’ origin story with an ensemble team-up involving a bunch of different Spider-people, like Spider-Gwen and Spider-Man Noir. The MCU could offer a live-action counterpart, but it wouldn’t feel very innovative in the wake of Spider-Verse’s success.
Should: Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker Needs Redemption
Andrew Garfield wasn’t a bad choice to play Peter Parker, but the character as he’s portrayed in The Amazing Spider-Man movies — a brazen jerk who uses his powers to bully people and stalk his crush — isn’t really Peter Parker.
In No Way Home, Garfield could be given a chance (albeit briefly) to play a more faithful incarnation of the character that would redeem the missteps made by his unfinished trilogy.
Shouldn’t: It Would Set A Precedent For Other Marvel Movies To Do The Same Thing
After WandaVision’s controversial “Ralph Bohner” reveal had Marvel fans up in arms about their Evan Peters multiverse theories being proven wrong, Marvel needs to be careful with how it approaches self-aware casting.
If the previous Spider-Men show up in No Way Home, then it’ll set a precedent for Hugh Jackman to fight the new Wolverine and Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner to encounter Edward Norton’s in some mad science experiment.
Should: It Can Give Tobey Maguire The Spider-Man 4 He Never Got
If Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker gets his own subplot in Spider-Man: No Way Home, then it can essentially be the Spider-Man 4 he never got to make. Sam Raimi planned a second Spider-Man trilogy to follow Spider-Man 3 but eventually quit the fourth movie after realizing he couldn’t complete his vision on Sony’s schedule.
With Raimi Maguire’s Peter could get a little mini-sequel within No Way Home, detailing his life beyond the events of the trilogy.
Shouldn’t: It Needs To Stay Focused On Tom Holland’s Spidey
It would obviously be a lot of fun to make the MCU’s third Spider-Man solo movie a wall-to-wall superhero spectacle filled with alternate versions of familiar characters, but that would distract from the ongoing character arc of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker.
As the movie set to wrap up Spidey’s solo trilogy and follow on from Far From Home’s bombshell identity crisis ending, No Way Home needs to stay focused on Holland’s version of Peter.
