Ok so Spider-man No Way Home has one of the most impactful endings that I think we've
had in a comic book movie since the snap dusted 50% of all life in the Universe.
Whereas that wiped removed several people from reality,
Peter in the movie has himself taken from the memories of everyone that ever met him.
Completely alone in the world he now no longer has anyone or any semblance of a normal,
regular life. The film ends with him fully in the Spider-Man persona and
even though he promised to remind MJ and Ned about who he was, he decides against this.
But is there a chance that they will remember him on their own?
Well that's what we're gonna be discussing in this video. Thanks to Deadline we now
have a full copy of the shooting script and have gone over it using our spoiler sense
to determine exactly what the final scene means given this new context.
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With that out the way, thanks for clicking this, now let's get into Spider-Man No Way Home.
Ok so the film culminates with all of reality tearing open as people from every universe
start to come into the MCU. Amongst the skyline we can catch villains like Kraven The Hunter
and also the Scorpion. Realising that they're all coming there because they know that Peter Parker
is Spider-man he asks Strange to cast a new spell that goes far beyond the one earlier in the film.
Now for the first part of the video I want to talk about how this works and inturn
it'll help us to understand a line in the script that comes when he reunites with MJ.
The spell itself is very much just a form of hypnotism that puts a block on someones
memory so that when they try to recall something they just can't remember it.
You might remember in the 1990s that everyone forgot about Dre
but come the song Forgot About Dre, we all started to remember him.
Memory itself is a funny thing and just in the same way that you can remember writing
a paper in school about why Batman and Robin was the greatest movie ever made,
you can't quite put your finger on why or what it is that you said exactly.
Spoiler alert, it was the Batnipples.
We've also all been to parties where we got a bit too much into the Mary Jane and though we
can remember being there, we can't remember what was said or the events that happened.
Just incase my mums watching this I'm not talking about me there,
talking about my mate Henry spoilers.
Anyway this is very much how people remember Peter. If he's interacted with them in the past
they'll somewhat remember being at that location and around him but they won't really remember him
specifically. He's basically the support act for the band that you went to see when you were 13,
you can remember it happening but can't name them or any of their songs.
Peter is a blur, just a fog that no one really remembers. This is why MJ
has the black dhalia necklace in the final scene and why she's still holding onto it.
She knows it's important to her and that it means a lot but she can't
put her finger on exactly why it means so much to her, she just knows it's special.
Across the board people just no longer recognise him and this is also seen in
Happy Hogan who meets Peter at Aunt May's grave. Even though the pair spent a lot of
time together he still doesn't even remember that he's connected to May.
In real life there's actually a condition called Prosopagnosia or facial blindness
which I'm gonna be saying from now as I can't pronounce that word for s**t.
This normally affects people from birth though it can develop if someone sustains a head injury.
It stops those effected from recognising people
and it can have a massive impact on someones life in terms of building relationships.
It's a very tragic thing not to be able to recognise the ones you love
and similarly those on the other end of this will of course feel distant
seeing that the person they love doesn't recognise them.
This is very much similar to what the world and MJ has because of the spell
which has completely hypnotised them.
However like with all hypnosis it is possible to snap out of it and there's
a line in the script that hints to her potentially doing this of her own accord.
On page 178 of the script we get a section that talks about how MJ has a slight sense
of Deja Vu during the donut shop scene and this is further expanded upon in for the next page.
In the movie you might remember...if no one has done a spell on you that their
last meeting is full of purpose. Though Peter goes there to tell MJ everything about them,
he decides not to after seeing the cut on her head.
Much like the resolution at the end of the first spider-man film,
Peter has realised that those closest to him will always be put in danger
because of the life that he leads. Thus he decides to leave the donut shop with
just his coffee but there is a line that says she has a faint sense of recognition.
This comes after he has introduced himself
and he's also talked about Ned and the pair getting into MT.
Coupled with the Deja Vu line I do think that eventually MJ will
remember of her own accord and she'll break the spell herself.
In the comics the love between Peter and MJ was so powerful that Mephisto himself wanted to steal it
away so you can bet that in the MCU the pair would have the connection to break any form of hypnosis.
Thinking about it I actually don't think that Peter would ever put her in danger again
and though he could tell her at any point, he never will. The power he has and the
responsibility that comes with it is too much for him to ever pull her into it and therefore
from a narrative point of view I think it has to be her who ends up remembering him.
Now this massively changes the ending and it very much means that MJ will likely be the one
who breaks the spell and that she will remember him. Because of this you have to wonder how
far that this extends beyond just her. This deja vu was clearly set off upon encountering Peter
and you have to wonder whether Happy could get an inkling of this as well.
Though he doesn't properly introduce himself like he does with MJ,
perhaps if the pair met again at the grave, Happy could remember him over time.
This could extend to the Avengers and anyone that
he comes across from his old life including Doctor Strange.
I am really interested to see what direction that things go and personally I actually think that we
won't see MJ or Ned in the next film. The pair are going to MIT in Boston along with Flash Thompson
and with Peter studying for his GED I think he'll remain in the city.
This could set up things like him bumping into the MCU's Gwen Stacy
and also getting the symbiote which was teased at the end of the film.
I absolutely love this scene and having the added notes in the script
definitely helps to flesh out the entire feeling of it.
We even have one that talks about how the old guy there is supposed to be a Stan Lee lookalike.
When the film first came out, many people wondered who this old person was and it's
only upon the full cast being revealed that we now know this is Edward Force.
There was a lot of debate over whether this was an intended Stan Lee cameo and now because of
the script that we know in someways that it was supposed to give us that feeling.
Thinking about it on a deeper level, we look at this actor and in many ways get memories of Stan
even though it isn't infact him. Audiences might even stare at him trying to figure out
who he is and where they know him from because he evokes the sense of the great comic book writer.
This is very much how MJ feels about Peter too. Much like us she's there
trying to figure out where she recognises this person from and why they bring back memories.
It's a great little touch and it just helps to elevate the film even more.
The final paragraph in the script also adds a lot more context to that
final swing. Whereas I initially thought that the ending was incredibly tragic,
the notes point out that Peter now has a new sense of freedom. Rather than having to juggle two lives
he can feel liberated in knowing that Spider-man lives on even if Peter Parker is no more.
No longer will he have to worry about those around him getting in danger
and he can finally embrace his destiny as your friendly neighbourhood spider-man.
There's a possibility that Black Cat could be pulled into it too and if we look at the comics I
actually think she'd be the perfect love interest to bring across. Felicia was always in love more
with Spider-man than Peter and with him being erased that would be a great way to take things.
One final note is that it says the suit is new for him but reminicent of the ones hes seen before.
In meeting Tobey and Andrew's versions he's very much bridged the gap between the pair
and has created his own suit that pulls parts of theirs.
Though we get little glimpses at it I think the new suit looks incredible and
something that's perfectly inline with the comics.
I love finding all these little details and I definitely recommend that you read
the full script as it's packed with a lot of extra
info on the movie that definitely makes the experience even better.
Now I'd of course love to hear your thoughts so make sure you comment below and let me know.
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If you want something else to watch then make sure you check out our
breakdown of perfect scene in Spider-Man Homecoming. We break down the entire thing
so it's definitely worth checking out if you wanna know more.
With that out the way thank you for sitting through the video,
I’ve been Paul and I’ll see you next time. Take care, Peace