"Spider-Man: No Way Home" may be the most secretive movie in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe since "Avengers: Endgame." For months,
it's been surrounded by rumors of returning Spider-Men from different timelines,
villainous resurrections, and more multiversal shenanigans than you could shake a Time Stone at.
Star Tom Holland told Variety his third outing as the famous webslinger is going to be "the most
ambitious standalone superhero movie ever made" -- and so far it's shaping up to be just that.
Here's everything we know about the release date, cast, and plot of "Spider-Man: No Way Home."
"What just happened?"
Let's start with something we do know for sure. "Spider-Man: No Way Home" is set to
debut in theaters on December 17, 2021. When it comes to the film's future on
at-home streaming services, though, things get a little more complicated.
If you're an MCU or Disney fan, you've likely already taken advantage of the
fact that the studios have been releasing some of their most hotly anticipated blockbusters on
Disney+ during the COVID-19 pandemic. It would make sense for "No Way Home" to follow suit,
except that the "Spider-Man" movies are actually Sony properties, and the fact that
the character was introduced into the MCU at all is kind of a business deal miracle.
That deal means we get to see Holland's Peter Parker palling around with the likes of Doctor
Strange, but it also means that you won't be seeing the movie on Disney+ Premier Access.
That's the bad news. The good news is that this
is probably the only MCU movie where Tom Hardy's Venom just might show up.
According to "What's On Disney+," "No Way Home" will be heading to Starz after its
theatrical and home video runs. While it will eventually find its way to the Disney+ library,
that won't be happening anytime soon. If you want to see "No Way Home" when it
premieres on December 17 you're going to have to mask up and head to the theater.
"Disinfect the mask."
When it comes to the cast for "Spider-Man: No Way Home," there are some things we can be sure of.
Tom Holland is definitely back as Peter Parker, Zendaya will reprise her role as
MJ, Jacob Batalon will return as Ned, and Marisa Tomei will once again play Aunt May.
Additionally, we know that there will be several crossovers with the established MCU.
"Doctor Strange's" Benedict Cumberbatch and Benedict Wong will be making appearances,
while perennial MCU ensemble member Jon Favreau will once again play Happy Hogan.
"Happy, is that you?"
"Is it me? Yeah, of course it's me!"
Now for the really fun stuff.
As has been speculated for some time, there will be returning characters from
Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" trilogy and the two "Amazing Spider-Man" films from Marc Webb.
The "No Way Home" trailer gave us a glimpse of Alfred Molina as Otto Octavius, aka
Doctor Octopus aka Doc Ock and with the November 16th release of the final trailer,
we can now say for sure that Jamie Foxx's Max Dillon, a.k.a. Electro,
and Willem Dafoe's iconic Green Goblin are returning to the big screen.
"You know how much I've sacrificed?!"
The trailer also showed us that The Amazing Spider-Man series' Lizard and Spider-Man 3's
Sandman are making a sinister return as well.
J.K. Simmons, who popped up in the mid-credit sequence of "Spider-Man:
Far From Home," will also be returning as J. Jonah Jameson.
"I want Spider-Man!!!!"
The biggest question that's been surrounding "No Way Home" is whether any of the previous
Spider-Men — Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield — will be featured in the film.
Everyone from Holland to Garfield to Kevin Feige himself has thrown cold water on those rumors,
but we know better. This multiversal crossover is almost definitely happening, and even if we don’t
get any official word on their appearance, they pretty much have to be there or fans will revolt.
"You have to remember, just, stay calm."
As far as the plot for "Spider-Man: No Way Home" is concerned,
there's a lot we do know, but even more we don't.
Based on the trailer and the official bits of synopsis that have come out,
we know that the film will see Peter Parker dealing with the aftermath
of the mid-credit sequence from "Far from Home," where Jameson played a video from Quentin Beck,
a.k.a. Mysterio, revealing to the world that the plucky high schooler is in fact Spider-Man.
When the pressure of this revelation gets to be too much for him, Peter goes to his
old buddy Doctor Strange to have him perform a little timeline magic and zap everything back
to before his identity was doxxed. But of course, that doesn't exactly go as planned.
The trailer's world-bending action and the presence of villains from the previous film series
suggest that "No Way Home" will see Peter and his allies dealing with a total multiverse
meltdown. Of course, exactly what that entails will be revealed when we see the movie itself.
Considering this is the last movie in Holland's "Spider-Man" trilogy, though,
it's safe to say that the stakes will be huge.
"Spider-Man: No Way Home" hits theaters on December 17.
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