Spider-Man: Far From Home has yet to release its eagerly anticipated first trailer, but Sony Pictures has teased the plot of its Marvel Studios co-production: The sequel to 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming will purportedly have Nick Fury task Peter Parker to fight a new threat known as Elementals, teaming him with Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio as the duo face their mutual enemies across Europe. While the Marvel Cinematic Universe has certainly altered dynamics between characters, the radical change in the relationship of the wall-crawler to his classic foe may be the biggest departure yet.

That, combined with the inclusion of the Elementals as the apparent primary antagonists, and Marvel's history of conscious, good-natured misdirection to keep plot details under wraps, suggests Far From Home's initial plot synopsis and promotional campaign may subvert expectations by providing fans with incomplete and intentionally misleading information.

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The first clue is the positioning of the Elementals. Introduced in 1974 in Marvel Comics' Supernatural Thrillers #8, by writer Tony Isabella and artist Val Mayerik, the quartet of extra-dimensional beings control earth, wind, water and fire, like villainous precursors to the Planeteers. After battling Ms. Marvel in the '70s, the group largely fell into obscurity, making their prominent role in the Spider-Man sequel particularly suspect. The plot synopsis teases that the group is causing natural disasters across Europe, but, even with their trail of destruction, Spider-Man and Mysterio are an unlikely choice by the exceedingly strategic Fury to combat them.

The other, and perhaps bigger, hint that Marvel Studios and Sony are misleading audiences is the decision to include Mysterio.

Briefly rumored to play the web-slinger in 2004's Spider-Man 2 after star Tobey Maguire suffered a back injury early in production, Gyllenhaal is the biggest addition to the Far From Home cast. Mysterio's live-action debut has been similarly rumored for years, with Bruce Campbell allegedly pegged to portray the character's civilian persona, Quentin Beck, in the original plan for 2002's Spider-Man.

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To introduce the longtime comic book antagonist as a big-screen ally is a radical redefinition that runs the risk of alienating fans. However, while Marvel Studios has proved itself time and again in its updated interpretations of classic characters, the very nature of Mysterio suggests there is much more than meets the eye with his initial MCU description.

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There's no bigger master of deception in the Marvel Universe than Mysterio. Introduced in 1964 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in The Amazing Spider-Man #13, Quentin Beck is a special-effects coordinator and stuntman who uses his behind-the-scenes parlor tricks and henchmen to repeatedly dupe the web-slinger as he conducts crimes. The villain later very nearly drove Daredevil insane during Kevin Smith and Joe Quesada's 1999 storyline Guardian Devil, while an alternate-universe version of the character tricked his reality's version of Wolverine into killing the rest of the X-Men in Mark Millar and Steve McNiven's "Old Man Logan." And, perhaps most tellingly, Mysterio was a founding member of the supervillain group the Sinister Six.

Mysterio

Sony has been attempting to create a live-action incarnation of that antagonistic ensemble for years, with 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 going so far as to include mid-credits images teasing their arrival, which, of course, never materialized. Last year's Spider-Man: Homecoming introduced three villains who could potentially form the team -- Michael Keaton's Vulture, Bokeem Woodbine's Shocker and Michael Mando's Scorpion. A founding member of the Sinister Six in 1964's The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1, Mysterio is the only character announced for Far From Home with ties to the team. Given reports that Keaton will reprise his role as Vulture in the sequel in an unknown capacity, the villain's return will likely lure Gyllenhaal's Quentin Beck to join their cause to seek revenge against Tom Holland's Peter Parker.

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Marvel is masterful and retaining the element of surprise while promoting films. Although Spider-Man: Far From Home is marketed, and ultimately controlled, by Sony, the studio's partnership with Marvel has undoubtedly influenced its approach, especially given the web-slinger's shocking fate in Avengers: Infinity War. While the promotional strategy may change following the late-April release of Avengers: Endgame, a little more than three months before Far From Home, the true natures of Mysterio's role and Peter Parker's European adventure are potentially a big misdirect until the film arrives in July. And the fish bowl-wearing villain wouldn't have it any other way.

Directed by Jon Watts, Spider-Man: Far From Home stars Tom Holland, Zendaya Coleman, Marisa Tomei, Michael Keaton, Jake Gyllenhaal, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, Jacob Batalon, Remy Hii and Tony Revolori. It is scheduled to be released on July 5, 2019.