WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home, now playing in theaters.
Tom Holland has been really tired of lying. Thankfully for him and fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he no longer has to because Spider-Man: No Way Home has arrived to great success, and all of the speculation and theory mongering can finally cease. Along with lots of answers, the film ended with many questions lingering about what comes next for the MCU's expanding cast of characters.
Before tending to the new crop of rumors that have already begun, the following will dispel or confirm some of the most popular and obscure predictions that have surrounded the release of No Way Home for more than a year.
Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield Reprise Their Roles As Spider-Man
Despite many, many attempts to kill this rumor before it could plant roots in the collective fertile imagination of fans, it persisted and bloomed. The Spider-Men are indeed united in Spider-Man: No Way Home, bringing each of the live-action counterparts together for the first time and making MCU history. In addition to the rumors of their return to fight alongside Tom Holland's version in the sacred timeline, other theories posited that Andrew Garfield might return as a villain or Tobey Maguire may take on the mantle of Uncle Ben, and those rumors were, thankfully, without merit.
No Way Home is a Civil War Between Doctor Strange and Spider-Man
There was originally an effort concocted by Marvel Studios and Sony to market the film as a showdown between the ex-Sorcerer Supreme and the friendly neighborhood web-slinger, and though that is by no way the crux of the film, there is a battle between the two that yields very interesting results. Fighting over the spell box that will send the multiversal villains back home at the moment of their deaths, Strange and Spidey battle it out in the mirror dimension where the advantage would seem to go to Strange, but Peter prevails.
No Way Home Assembles a Multiversal Sinister Six Against Spider-Man
Though this was fairly obvious since the second trailer debuted. It's a theory that has been circulating for over a year, long before any visuals had been captured or leaked, but following cast information that had become available. Though it doesn't work out to be a true Sinister Six, it does constitute its spirit, so much so that any attempt to try it in the future would feel derivative.
Charlie Cox’s Daredevil Makes An Appearance in No Way Home
This was definitely another rumor that would not die and it was paired with a petition demanding for Charlie Cox specifically to be integrated into the MCU and it turned out to be absolutely accurate. One of the more precise rumors also theorized that Matt Murdock would appear as Peter Parker's lawyer and that also proved to be the case, as Peter needed some brief legal expertise to combat Mysterio's lies. His deft interception of a brick hurled through Peter's window also demonstrated that his abilities remain intact within the MCU even though Daredevil doesn't show up in costume.
The Green Goblin Will Be The Main Antagonist
Though Norman Osborne tries to be as helpful as he can to Peter, and Peter, in turn, tries to help him get home without killing him thanks to May's suggestion, his alter ego as the Green Goblin is the driving force behind the assembled villain's decision to try and defeat Strange and Spider-Man's plan to send them back. The film solidifies the Green Goblin as Peter's foundational nemesis much in the same way he was established as such in the original theatrical trilogy as he is responsible for May's death and Peter's newfound overarching principle regarding the responsibility of power.
The Trailer for Doctor Strange 2 is Tied to No Way Home's Release
The Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness trailer did not release during the previews of the film, which was a surprise to many. It did, however, appear as the final post-credits scene. Depicting a dreadlocked Mordo who identifies Strange himself as the biggest threat to the multiverse, the trailer also seems to introduce the Dark Strange Guardian of the Multiverse from the What If...? series making his cinematic debut. Strange reaches out to Wanda in the trailer to help repair what he has done cementing her crucial role in next year's sequel.
Another popular theory posited that the Dark Guardian Strange would be the main antagonist of both Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and while one part of that theory has been debunked, evidence for the second part appears to be mounting.
Venom Makes an Appearance In No Way Home
An earlier mid-credits scene shows Eddie Brock in Mexico at a bar getting the lay of the land from a bartender about the world that he finds himself in. Venom does not appear on screen but does communicate with Eddie as he drinks and takes in all the information. As Strange's spell sends him back to his own dimension, a portion of the symbiote remained as a tiny glob on the barter, and Eddie's last words before vanishing indicated a desire to locate Spider-Man leaving the door open for the globule to somehow make its way to New York, paving the way for an MCU Venom, but simultaneously dispelling another Venom rumor.
Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man Saves MJ Unlike Gwen Stacy
Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker explains to his doppelgängers that he became a dark version of himself after he failed to save Gwen Stacy. He has clearly still not come to terms with her death and in the moment when MJ falls off of the Statue of Liberty's scaffolding his rescue of her is as cathartic for him as it is for the audience. The emotional performance Garfield taps into while checking on MJ making sure that she is okay is an unforgettable movie moment.
Not All of the Returning Villains Will Turn Out to Be Bad
A theory supplied by Reddit user Mediocrecritic turned out to be accurate if somewhat shaken by the plot. Sandman initially shows up as an ally of Peter's who wants to help him defeat the other villains, whose only interest is to return home to his daughter. The Green Goblin gives a rousing speech of betrayal and, for some reason, Sandman goes along with it and the reasoning is never explained. Doctor Octopus, who is a victim of a malfunctioning inhibitor chip, arrives bloodthirsty on the scene but once his chip is bypassed he reverts to the revered scientist he had always been.
No Way Home Villains Will Use Stark Tech
As soon as Electro appears in the prime timeline, he mentions that the energy there somehow feels different from his home dimension's. The more he samples, the more he craves and when Peter brings him within range of Tony Stark's arc reactor he can't resist its pull and the promise that comes along with that kind of power. He steals it and becomes the most powerful version of himself and fights to the bitter end to hold on to that power.
No Way Home's Black Suit is Hot Wired for Magic
This theory isn't exactly accurate with its talk of runes and so forth and there is no connection that the suit itself has to magic. However, the image that served as the springboard for the theory proved to have some merit because the magic is not in the suit but the web launcher. Doctor Strange jury-rigged the web array so that it would transport whatever it touched to a confinement cage, allowing for a speedy round-up of all the individuals who had crossed over from other dimensions.
To see all of the theories brought to life, Spider-Man: No Way Home is now playing in theaters.