The internet is currently ablaze with anticipation for Spider-Man No Way Home courtesy of Sony dropping a fresh trailer for the upcoming superhero flick this week. While the trailer has given us plenty to chew over there’s more than meets the eye in this three-minute preview.
The international version of the trailer actually contains a couple of alternative and extended clips. One of which may have given us our biggest clue yet that Spider-Man No Way Home will feature multiple web slingers.
Rumors that Tobey Maguire, who played Spider-Man in a trilogy of films released from 2002 to 2007, and Andrew Garfield, who played the wall-crawler in two films between 2012 and 2014, will feature in No Way Home have been circulating for months. However, a brief shot that features in the Brazillian cut of the trailer has further fanned the flames of internet speculation.
Lizard gets hit with an invisible punch in the #SpiderManNoWayHome Brazil trailer 🧐Looks like they edited out Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield 😂 pic.twitter.com/oJheAgOI9CNovember 17, 2021
The brief scene shows the classic Spider-Man villain the Lizard leaping from construction scaffolding and taking a punch from an invisible foe in mid-air. Now, unless the scaly villain has been walloped by an especially strong gust of wind, it seems likely that whoever is doing the punching has been edited out of the trailer.
Considering that the Lizard first appeared on the big screen in 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man, which featured Garfield as Peter Parker, it’s no great leap in logic to suggest he's delivering the beatdown. It would make sense that Sony would edit Garfield’s Spider-Man out of the trailer to preserve the surprise, although the studio hasn’t covered its tracks especially well.
Another scene, which is in all versions of the trailer, has also caused rampant speculation. We see MJ (played by Zendaya) fall from the aforementioned construction site while a spandex-clad hand reaches out to save her.
The plot thickens when you notice that the hand reaching out to save her is blue/red which aren’t the colors of any of the suits Tom Holland’s Spider-Man has been seen wearing in the No Way Home trailers. Could this be Maguire or Garfield coming to the rescue?
THAT AINT TOMS HAND YOOOO pic.twitter.com/p7jW0PzTBSNovember 17, 2021
None of this is wild speculation either. We already know that No Way Home will be fully exploring the multiverse. The film centers on the fallout from Doctor Strange’s attempt to perform a spell that will make the entire world forget Spider-Man’s secret identity. This incantation goes awry and the Marvel Cinematic Universe begins colliding with other dimensions.
The film will feature villains from across Spider-Man’s cinematic history. Already confirmed is Alfred Molina returning as Doctor Octopus (from 2004’s Spider-Man 2), Jamie Foxx coming back as a (slightly redesigned) Electro (from 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2), Thomas Haden Church will become Sandman again (from 2007’s Spider-Man 3) and, much to the internet’s joy, Willem Dafoe will reprise his role as Norman Osborn aka Green Goblin from 2002’s Spider-Man.
With so many villains from across the multiverse appearing, it would also make sense for a few alternative versions of Spider-Man himself to fall into the MCU. After all, it would be pretty unfair for Tom Holland to have to face off against so many villains alone.
The three big-screen Spider-Man teaming up looks like it may no longer be just the stuff of fanboy dreams. Although, we appreciate Sony keeping some mystery about this aspect of No Way Home. Especially as the film's marketing has already spoilt too much.
Thankfully, we won’t have long to wait to find out whether Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield will be redonning their Spidey suits, Spider-Man No Way Home exclusively hits theatres on December 17. Tickets will go on sale from November 29, a date which Sony is dubbing Spider-Man Monday.
