The trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home shows Peter Parker entering into another reality after one of Doctor Strange's spells goes awry. Alternate realities have become a prevalent theme in recent Marvel properties, such as in the Disney+ shows Loki and What If...?. However, the most famous movie to explore this theme using Marvel characters is the 2018 hit Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse.
That film features versions of Spider-Man from six different universes all teaming up to stop Wilson Fisk after the New York crime boss ripped a hole between realities with his super-collider. In fact, one of the universes depicted is based on the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy, which is also depicted in the trailer for No Way Home. This raises an important question: Could No Way Home also connect the MCU with the events of Into the Spider-Verse?
The concept of the multiverse was once considered a niche idea within comics, but it has since become a major part of mainstream superhero media. The MCU's live-action Loki TV series features the Time Variance Authority, an organization that works to ensure there is only one timeline, while the animated show What If...? looks at key decision points in Marvel history that could have ended up going a different way.
The trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home shows Peter Parker turning to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help after Mysterio revealed his secret identity at the end of the last film. Strange agrees to cast a spell that will make the entire world forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. However, Peter begins to ask anxiety-fueled questions in the middle of the spellcasting, which tampers with the spell. This opens up other possible realities, leading to a scene where the MCU's Peter Parker (played by Tom Holland) encounters the version of Doctor Octopus (played by Alfred Molina) from the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films.
Into the Spider-Verse opens with an adult Peter Parker introducing himself while recapping many of the events of the Raimi films. However, the movie's main character is Miles Morales, a young man who is bitten by a radioactive spider that gives him spider-themed powers (as well as a few unique abilities). He meets Peter Parker just before the Green Goblin thrusts Peter's head into a super-collider that has been turned on. This opens a portal to five other universes, bringing the respective Spider-Men of each one into Miles's own reality.
One of the more brilliant creative choices of Into the Spider-Verse is the decision to have each character depicted with a different art style. For example, the Spider-Man Noir character is drawn in black-and-white, while the mech-piloting Peni Parker is given an appearance and style of movement based on anime. These distinct visual styles help to flesh out each character as unique while also celebrating the individual artistic source material that inspired them. The decision to incorporate all of these techniques is also key to understanding how Into the Spider-Verse and No Way Home could overlap.
While most MCU films are considered live-action movies, the amount of CGI used in each means that they are heavily animated with digital effects. The climactic battle between Mysterio and Peter Parker at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home is almost entirely comprised of CGI animation (as were most of the fights involving the two characters). Between the MCU's amazing visual effects teams and the diverse animation styles presented in Into the Spider-Verse, it is possible that the two could overlap. No Way Home provides the perfect opportunity for such a crossover.
In all likelihood, if such a scene is in the movie, it will almost certainly be brief, as the different animation styles could clash and lose their impact from overuse. However, there are plenty of ways that the MCU's Peter Parker could meet one of the characters from Into the Spider-Verse. Such a scene would be sure to delight audiences.