Warning: This article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The end of previous Spider-Man villains, including Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), and Electro (Jamie Foxx). After the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange is already set for his MCU return - but unlike him, Spider-Man's next appearance is still unknown.
Spider-Man: No Way Home continues director Jon Watts' Marvel Studios trilogy's trend of partnering up the web-slinger with an older MCU hero. Avengers: Infinity War; both going to Titan with Tony Stark to confront Thanos (Josh Brolin) about his nefarious plans of wiping half of life with the Infinity Stones.
While not on par with the world-shattering events of Infinity War, things still got a little out of hand while Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which is the next Marvel Studios film set to release in May 2022. This is the primary reason why Spider-Man: No Way Home ending tag revealed that Doctor Strange will return. In fact, the latest Marvel Studios and Sony collaboration's end credits even unveiled the first look at the Sam Raimi-directed flick. However, there may also be other reasons Spider-Man's MCU return wasn't also mentioned at the end of the MCU film.
Ultimately, Spider-Man's MCU future return remaining mysterious likely has something to do with the fact that any concrete plans for Spider-Man's future in the MCU seem to be relatively new. Producer Amy Pascal previously claimed that Sony will continue working with Marvel Studios to make another Spider-Man trilogy with Holland. But this was effectively debunked by Sony's Tom Rothman during the blockbuster's red carpet premiere, saying that while they are eager to maintain their working relationship with Marvel Studios, there is no official deal in place for this new set of movies. Eventually, Marvel Studios Kevin Feige confirmed that Spider-Man 4 is in active development just days after the movie's Los Angeles event, but it's possible that this is a fairly new development. It might be something off the table when Spider-Man: No Way Home's theatrical cut was finalized. It's also safe to say that Marvel Studios would've prioritized hyping Doctor Strange's MCU return because his film is up next.
All this said, the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home clearly sets up at least another outing for Holland's hero in the MCU. Considering the box office and critical success of the movie, it makes perfect sense for both Marvel Studios and Sony's partnership to continue since both are benefitting from it anyway.
