Here's everything we know about the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Fans of Holland's wall-crawler haven't had to wait long for more of his Spider-Man, as Peter Parker has since appeared in both 2018's Avengers: Infinity War and 2019's Avengers: Endgame. Holland also starred in the sequel to Homecoming, 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home, which became the first MCU film set after the events of Endgame. The movie sees Peter Parker continue trying to be a normal high school kid, going on summer vacation with his classmates and wanting to MJ (Zendaya) how he feels about her. However, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) recruits Spider-Man to battle world-threatening creatures called Elementals, working alongside Quentin Beck (aka, Mysterio and played by Jake Gyllenhaal). The Spider-Man: Far From Home ending sets up another solo movie about the MCU's Spider-Man when, in a major twist, J. Jonah Jameson publicly outs the web-slinging hero's identity.
Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures officially announced a third solo film, which is officially called Spider-Man: No Way Home and is finally releasing in late 2021. Here is everything to know about the No Way Home, from its release date, which characters will return, who the villain might be and the threequel's story details.
Tom Holland Is Contracted Through Spider-Man: No Way Home
As the actor revealed back in 2016, Holland signed a contract for six MCU movies when he originally ed the franchise. Spider-Man: Far From Home marked his fifth movie after Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. As such, there's still one more movie on Holland's contract, which will be fulfilled by Spider-Man: No Way Home. Holland previously confirmed a Spider-Man trilogy in the MCU and that's now coming to fruition. In an interview with Collider, the actor once again confirmed that his contract is officially up after the third Spider-Man film. In his words:
[Spider-Man: No Way Home] would be my last one [under contract] so I’ve always said to them if they want me back I’ll be there in a heartbeat. I’ve loved every minute of being a part of this amazing world. It’s changed my life for the better, I’m so lucky to be here. If they want me back I’ll be there, if they don’t I will walk off into the sunset a very, very happy person because it’s been an amazing journey."
Considering Holland has also said he'll play Spider-Man for the next 20 years, one can safely assume that the end of his contract doesn't necessarily mean the end of Holland's run as the superhero and it sounds like he would be up for extending his contract for future movie appearances. That said, the new deal struck between Sony and Marvel does call for an additional appearance in another MCU movie, so even if it's not a standalone pic, viewers could see Holland's Spider-Man pop back in for another film down the line, probably one that involves another group team-up.
Spider-Man: No Way Home Releases December 17, 2021
Considering the brisk two-year gap between Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home, Spider-Man: No Way Home is following in its predecessors' footsteps. The film was originally scheduled to be released in theaters in July 2021. However, due to the global pandemic and theater closures, Marvel and Sony pushed the film's release date to December 17, 2021. If there are no more delays, Spider-Man: No Way Home will be the fourth MCU film released this year after Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Eternals. But unlike Black Widow, Spider-Man: No Way Home is getting a theater-only release like Shang-Chi and Eternals. Marvel and Disney did postpone the releases of several MCU films, including Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Luckily, No Way Home was not affected and will proceed as scheduled.
Peter Parker's Identity Is Known In Spider-Man: No Way Home
As revealed in the Spider-Man: Far From Home visit Doctor Strange in a bid to wipe the memory of his identity from everyone's minds. Naturally, chaos will ensue.
Spider-Man: No Way Home Villains
Spider-Man: No Way Home has become an unexpected and groundbreaking connection between the MCU Spider-Man mythos and Sony's previous Spider-Man films. Alfred Molina and Jamie Foxx are reprising their roles as Doctor Octopus and Electro, respectively. Molina last played Doc Ock in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2, with Foxx playing Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. They'll be ed by Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin. Molina revealed Spider-Man: No Way Home picks up after the end of Spider-Man 2, which sees Doc Ock sinking into the river.
What's more, there have long been rumors of Marvel Studios building to Sinister Six, especially considering Vulture, Shocker and Scorpion all exist in the MCU (plus Donald Glover's Aaron Davis could become Prowler). However, Spider-Man: Far From Home doesn't set up the Sinister Six explicitly, though these villains could return in Spider-Man: No Way Home as individual antagonists or a smaller team. It remains to be seen who else Marvel Studios will choose to the already impressive villain line-up of No Way Home. It's likely whoever else the studio picks will be connected to Spider-Man's identity being revealed (like Scorpion coming after him). While Mysterio is unlikely to appear in No Way Home after dying at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, new merchandise revealed t-shirts that state "We Believe Mysterio," suggesting the villain's influence and the damage he's done to Peter's reputation go far beyond the grave.
Who Else Will Be Back For Spider-Man: No Way Home?
Aside from Holland as Spider-Man and the returning villains, Spider-Man: No Way Home has been confirmed to include Peter Parker's core group of classmates: MJ (Zendaya), Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon), and Flash Thompson (Tony Revolori). Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) will also be back in the sequel, while another appearance from Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) is also in the cards. Furthermore, after being introduced in the Spider-Man: Far From Home post-credits scene, J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) will be back in the third Spider-Man film. And, of course, Spider-Man will be aided by Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), who has a sizable role in the movie.
Given how Homecoming and Far From Home each incorporated major MCU characters, Spider-Man: No Way Home may have another MCU cameo or key appearance in it. Considering the return of Jamie Foxx and Alfred Molina, speculation is swirling that Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire will also reprise their roles from their respective Spider-Man films. There's even talk of Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy and Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane Watson to return as well. However, Holland has denied that Garfield and Maguire are returning (and so has Garfield, on several occasions). Still, it wouldn't be a surprise if they appeared anyway, considering how Marvel likes to keep things heavily under wraps. In addition, new merchandise revealed Spider-Man could be tapping into magical abilities. The image on the t-shirt showcases Spidey in a black suit with a blue symbol not unlike that of Doctor Strange's spells. That is being speculated to be the Web of Life and Destiny from the comics, which involves a power that connects the various Spider-Man characters from throughout the multiverse. That could mean other iterations of the superhero could actually appear, after all.
Spider-Man: No Way Home Trailer
Spider-Man: No Way Home is fully embracing the multiverse concept. In the first teaser trailer for the film, all hell breaks loose in New York City thanks to Peter and Doctor Strange's antics. Loki season 1 opened the doors for the multiverse to exist within the MCU and Doctor Strange must have somehow broken the timeline further during his spell to erase Spider-Man from everyone's memories. Up is down in No Way Home, with brief glimpses at the catastrophe the multiverse is already causing and the first official appearance of Doc Ock in the film.
The trailer also suggests Peter will have to explore what it really means to be a superhero due to his identity being revealed and how he handles it. New York is shown to be collapsing in a very Inception-like way and, interestingly, Doctor Strange and Spider-Man seem to be battling each other. With the multiverse on the MCU's doorstep, Spider-Man: No Way Home will surely have a lot more surprises in store once the movie releases in theaters.
