Spider-Man: No Way Home is a 2021 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero of the same name. It is the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming & Spider-Man: Far From Home. It also serves as a crossover/sequel to the Original Spider-Man Trilogy and The Amazing Spider-Man Duology, and as a crossover prequel to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The film released in theaters on December 17, 2021 to positive reviews from critics and fans alike.
Synopsis[]
For the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood hero's identity is revealed, bringing his Super Hero responsibilities into conflict with his normal life and putting those he cares about most at risk. When he enlists Doctor Stephen Strange’s help to restore his secret, the spell tears a hole in their world, releasing the most powerful villains who’ve ever fought a Spider-Man in any universe. Now, Peter will have to overcome his greatest challenge yet, which will not only forever alter his own future but the future of the Multiverse.
Plot[]
J. Jonah Jameson of The Daily Bugle has exposed Peter Parker's identity as Spider-Man to the world, while simultaneously framing him as the individual responsible for Mysterio's death and an alleged mass casualty event in London. Numerous civilians nearby begin to surround him and Michelle Jones, forcing them to flee from the media and the police. They hide in Parker's apartment and reunite with May Parker and Happy Hogan. Not long after, the Department of Damage Control take them along with Ned Leeds in their custody for interrogation. Parker hires Matt Murdock to represent him, who manages to get his criminal charges dropped. However, as Parker, Jones, and Leeds return to Midtown School of Science and Technology for their senior year, the intense controversy causes them to be rejected from every college they apply to, including MIT.
Parker visits the New York Sanctum and asks Doctor Strange to make the identity of Spider-Man a secret once more. Despite being warned by Wong not to, Strange attempts to cast the spell. However, Parker incessantly requests various individuals close to him to be exempt from its effects. As a result, the spell becomes unstable, forcing Strange to contain it. For not consulting with college administrators before meeting with him, Strange furiously kicks Parker out of the Sanctum. Contacting Flash Thompson, who was admitted to MIT, Parker is led to an administrator heading to the Alexander Hamilton Bridge in an attempt to appeal his, Jones' and Leeds' applications.
Parker is suddenly ambushed by Otto Octavius, who seems to know him personally. Octavius grabs him and rips out a piece of the Iron Spider Armor, transferring its nanites onto his tentacles. He goes for another strike, but Parker reveals his face, which is unfamiliar to him. Parker then takes control of Octavius’ tentacles with the suit’s nanites and rescues the MIT admin from falling off the bridge, who decides to help get him and his friends admitted out of gratitude.
The Green Goblin arrives and attempts to attack Parker, but he and Octavius are transported into the Sanctum, where Strange imprisons Octavius and Lizard. He informs Parker that Octavius, Lizard, and Green Goblin are not of this universe, but from parallel realities within the Multiverse, who were pulled into this reality by the failed spell since they know Spider-Man's identity. To contain this spell, Strange locks it in the Machina de Kadavus, a mystical containment unit.
Parker is recruited to help find and capture these “visitors”, receiving a magic-based upgrade to his suit. With assistance from Jones and Leeds, Parker locates Max Dillon as he materializes his body out of electricity. Startled, he attacks Parker and gains the upper hand, but Flint Marko intervenes to shield the boy. The two work together to cut the power lines, which fully restores Dillon's body. When he is sent to the Sanctum, Marko believes Parker killed him, but is also captured before he can retaliate. Elsewhere, Norman Osborn attempts to escape from the Green Goblin, breaking his mask before fleeing to a F.E.A.S.T. facility seeking refuge. Parker locates Osborn thanks to May and brings him to the Sanctum as well. Osborn, Octavius, and Dillon soon realize that they were spared from death by being brought into this universe moments before they were thought to have perished.
Strange explains to Parker that these three are doomed to die fighting their own Spider-Men. He intends to use the Machina to reverse the spell and send them back to their fates for the sake of the greater Multiverse. Convinced that they can be cured of their antagonistic natures and be spared from death, Parker steals the Machina before Strange can use it and flees. Strange gives chase, takes Parker’s magic back, and sends him into the Mirror Dimension to retrieve the Machina, while also trying to implore him of the multiversal stakes relying on the visitors being sent back. Unfazed, Parker entangles Strange in a web matrix and steals his Sling Ring before returning to the Earthly Plane. He passes the ring to Leeds and the Machina to Jones and releases the prisoners from confinement.
Taking them to Hogan’s condominium, Parker attempts to administer cures for the multiversal refugees. He starts with Octavius, using a Stark Industries Fabricator to engineer a replacement inhibitor chip for his tentacles and restore his higher brain function. In addition, Dillon has a device installed into him which is designed to extract his powers. But before he could affect Osborn, the Green Goblin takes over his body, who persuades Dillon to remove the neutralizer before it can fully take away his abilities. He steals an Arc Reactor and, drawing its power, blasts Octavius out of the building. The Lizard, Marko, and Dillon escape, while the Goblin attacks Parker, sending him to the ground floor. Running outside, May injects an antidote into the Goblin, which doesn't work. She is struck by his Glider. He tosses two Pumpkin Bombs, which Parker fails to block and explodes in their proximity.
Parker manages to locate May in the rubble. Unaware that she had been gravely injured, May tells her nephew not to give up helping others despite all odds, lecturing him that with great power comes great responsibility. As DODC officers surround them, Parker tries to save May, to no avail. Hogan arrives on the scene and is immediately apprehended by authorities. Grief-stricken, Parker flees, his guilt worsening with Jameson's media gaslighting. Growing worrisome after Parker's silence, Jones prepares to activate the Machina, but Leeds manages to open a portal with the Sling Ring by accident. Attempting to find Parker, they see what seems to be their Spider-Man on the other side of the portal, calling him over. However, they soon realize that this Spider-Man is not theirs, but rather one from another universe that previously fought the Lizard and Dillon. Leeds tries again, but summons yet another alternate Spider-Man, who previously fought the Goblin, Octavius, and Marko.
The group finally manage to find their Parker alone on top of Midtown and attempt to console him about May, but he is too distraught about his mistakes to even care. Before he can use the Machina to send the alternate Spider-Men home, they begin sharing their own personal experiences of loss and bitterness to help him cope and realize that he is not alone. The Parkers, Jones, and Leeds then retreat to a classroom laboratory. Osborn's Parker engineers an anti-serum for the Goblin as Dillon's Parker recreates the Lizard antidote, while Parker prepares the cures for Marko and Dillon. Afterwards, Leeds brings them to the Statue of Liberty via portal as he and Jones remain in the lab.
Parker calls into The Daily Bugle to broadcast a message, using the Machina as a lure while announcing his presence to the Lizard, Dillon, and Marko. They arrive and attack the three Spider-Men on the scaffolding. The web-slingers are unable to coordinate effectively, which leads them to be easily overpowered by their enemies. Grouping up, Parker assumes command of the trio due to his experience as part of the Avengers; the three adopt codenames: Parker as Peter-One, the Parker from Osborn's universe as Peter-Two, and the Parker from Dillon's universe as Peter-Three. They decide to engage and cure one enemy at a time, with Marko first. After restraining the Lizard, Peter-Three retrieves Marko's cure and passes the device to Parker, who then delivers the cure to Peter-Two, allowing Marko to be neutralized.
The three Spider-Men attempt to take the Arc Reactor from Dillon, but he proves to be too much of a match for them due to his increased power from the energy source. The Lizard breaks free and attacks Jones and Leeds in the lab, forcing Parker to leave and fight him. With the help of Leeds and his Sling Ring, Parker forces the Lizard to break open a bottle containing the antidote which reverts him back to his human form, Curt Connors. Leeds accidentally summons Strange to the battlefield who, upon seeing Connors, realizes Parker’s pacifist plan is working. Strange grabs back the Machina and his Sling Ring from Leeds. Peter-Two and Peter-Three are overpowered by Dillon, until Octavius arrives to extract the Arc Reactor himself and render him powerless with the finished neutralizer. Peter-Three reconciles with Dillon while Peter-Two warmly reunites with Octavius.
Parker returns to Strange as he prepares to use the Machina to send everyone home. The Goblin ambushes the group and takes the Machina, but Octavius and Strange grab it back. Unbeknownst to them, the Goblin had snuck a Pumpkin Bomb inside the object. It detonates, releasing the unstable contained spell, breaking the fabric of the Earthly Plane and open it up to the Multiverse. The blast also causes Jones to fall from the Statue of Liberty. Parker dives to rescue her, but is knocked aside by the Goblin-- Peter-Three saves her, and begins to tear up as it reminded him of the night Gwen Stacy died. As dawn breaks, Parker confronts the Goblin alone. Ravaged with vengeance, he viciously beats him down and attempts to finish him off with his glider, but is stopped by Peter-Two. This however leaves him open to get stabbed in the back by the Goblin.
Peter-Three provides Parker with the anti-serum, allowing him to cure Osborn from the Goblin. He notices Peter-Two’s injury, which was non-fatal, and realizes the extent of the damage he had caused. Strange struggles to hold the rifts in the Earthly Plane together, in which intruders are already preparing to invade this reality. However, Parker has him enact a new spell to make everyone forget who he is to fix it. Parker embraces his alternate selves, who encourage him to continue on as Spider-Man. Strange repairs the rifts with the new spell and successfully transports Peter-Two, Peter-Three, Dillon, Octavius, Osborn, Marko and Connors back to their origin universes, along with Eddie Brock, who unknowingly leaves behind a small remnant of the Venom symbiote in his place. Parker embraces Leeds and Jones for a final time, who make him promise to return someday and help them remember him. He then departs as Strange unleashes the spell, leaving the entire world completely oblivious to Parker’s existence.
A few weeks later, it is now the holidays. Parker tries to reconnect with his MIT-bound friends, but after being reminded of Jones' wounds, he decides not to. He visits May’s grave to pay his respects and is joined by Hogan, who is also now a stranger to him. Vowing to carry on, Parker moves into a new apartment alone and begins studying to earn his GED. Alerted to criminal activity on his phone, he stitches together a simpler suit and resumes his heroics undisturbed as Spider-Man, honoring May's mantra of community service and responsibility.
Cast[]
- Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
- Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Amazing Spider-Man
- Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
- Zendaya as Michelle "MJ" Jones-Watson
- Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Stephen Strange
- Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds
- Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan
- Jamie Foxx as Max Dillon/Electro
- Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin
- Alfred Molina as Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus
- Rhys Ifans as Dr. Curtis Connors/The Lizard
- Thomas Haden Church as Flint Marko/Sandman
- Marisa Tomei as May Parker
- J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson
- Benedict Wong as Wong
- Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock
- Tony Revolori as Flash Thompson
- Angourie Rice as Betty Brant
- Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock/Venom
- J. B. Smoove as Mr. Dell
- Martin Starr as Mr. Harrington
- Hannibal Burgess as Coach Wilson
- Gary Weeks as Agent Foster
- Harry Holland as Shaker Kid (deleted scene)
- Jake Gyllenhaal as Quentin Beck/Mysterio (archive footage)
Production[]
In June 2017, following an interview that was given by Tom Holland, it was announced that Sony Pictures Studios and Marvel Studios were making a trilogy for Spider-Man and that there would two movies informally titled Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3, as opposed to the Homecoming 2 title that Sony had announced in December 2016.[2]
On June 19, 2019, Amy Pascal confirmed that a third movie was in the works, and that titles such as Spider-Man: Home Run or Spider-Man: Homeless were being considered.[3] Pascal also revealed that "So, you never know, he might be a fugitive. He’s going to be in a very different place, and it’s a different story than we’ve ever told before. You have to keep changing these movies, because there’s only so many times it can be to be Spider-Man or to be Peter Parker."[4]
On September 27, 2019, a new deal had surface between Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios into having a new film being scheduled in for a July 16, 2021 release.[1]
On July 23, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the film was pushed back from it's initial July 2021 release to December 17, 2021.
On October 1, 2020, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Jamie Foxx was set to reprise his role as Max Dillon / Electro in the film, Foxx confirmed this casting a day later, but revealed that "he wouldn't be blue this time".
On October 8, 2020, it was reported by Variety that Benedict Cumberbatch would be returning in the role of Doctor Strange.
On October 16, 2020, Production officially began in Atlanta.
Sometime in October 2020, numerous rumors spread that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield would return as their respective Spider-Men, along with additional rumors stating that Willem Dafoe, Thomas Haden Church, Rhys Ifans, Paul Giamatti and Kirsten Dunst would return in their respective roles as well, though none of the rumors were confirmed or reported by official outlets.
On December 3, 2020, Murphy's Multiverse reported that Marvel Netflix actor Charlie Cox would be joining the film as Daredevil.[5]
On December 8, 2020, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Alfred Molina would return as Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus in Tom Holland's 3rd Spider-Man installment. Two days later at the Disney Investors event, Kevin Feige revealed that the film would tie directly into the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
On February 23, 2021, Tom Holland, Jacob Batalon, and Zendaya, went over to social media, and showed three early preview pictures of the film and also posted three separate and different fake titles for the Spider-Man threequel. Tom's being Spider-Man: Phone Home, Jacob's being Spider-Man: Home-Wrecker, and finally Zendaya's being Spider-Man: Homeslice. The next day, Sony officially confirmed the film's title to be Spider-Man: No Way Home.
On March 26, 2021, Spider-Man: No Way Home officially wrapped up production.
On April 16, 2021, it was reported that Jon Favreau who previously played Happy Hogan in the previous two Spider-Man installments would be reprising his role once more for Spider-Man: No Way Home. Additionally that same day, Alfred Molina revealed that he would once again be reprising the role of Doc Ock in the film, and that it would be the same version of the character he first portrayed in Spider-Man 2. He also revealed that he was digitally de-aged for the role to match his character's look in 2004.
On August 23, 2021, the official teaser trailer for the film was released by Sony Pictures, which confirmed a number of rumors such as Willem Dafoe, Rhys Ifans, Thomas Haden Church and Benedict Wong all reprising their roles as Green Goblin, The Lizard, Sandman and Wong respectively.
On November 29, 2021, Sony producer Amy Pascal revealed that another set of films starring Tom Holland would be developed after Spider-Man: No Way Home.[6]
Trivia[]
- The original forgetting spell cast by Doctor Stephen Strange (and interrupted by Peter Parker) to erase the world's knowledge of Parker being Spider-Man is adapted from the Marvel Comics Amazing Spider-Man storylines "One More Day" and "One Moment in Time", where-in Mephisto manipulates reality to have Strange cast the spell for Parker after Parker privately made a deal with him (Mephisto) to save his aunt May from dying in exchange for his marriage being erased from existence (unknowingly also erasing his future daughter May); while the final spell, cast by Strange in order to erase the world's knowledge of Peter Parker's existence completely, is adapted from the Unbelievable Gwenpool storyline "Believe It", where-in Strange erases Gwen Poole's home reality's knowledge of her own existence in order to transfer it to Earth-616.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Spider-Man Will Stay in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
- ↑ Tom Holland confirms Homecoming trilogy
- ↑ Amy Pascal Talks Spider-Man: Far From Home Spoilers, Venom Sequel, Spider-Verse, and More
- ↑ Amy Pascal Interview: Spider-Man: Far From Home
- ↑ Charlie Cox is Back as Daredevil in 'SPIDER-MAN 3'
- ↑ 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' Producer Amy Pascal Reveals More About the Historic Film and Confirms Tom Holland's Future as Spider-Man