While everyone is speculating about the return of Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield in the new SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME movie, releasing on Dec. 17, what has me on the edge of my seat is seeing MJ (Zendaya) falling off a crumbling building as Spider-Man (Tom Holland) leaps to rescue her.
A VERY familiar and uncomfortable scene in Spider-Man’s history revolving around Gwen Stacey. Spider-Man is motivated by protecting his neighborhood, his family and ultimately the world with the Avengers. As time goes on, Spider-Man becomes tormented by the death and pain being Spider-Man has caused those very people he holds dear. Could this be Peter’s infamous turning point or can he stop history from repeating itself? December 17th can’t get here fast enough to answer all the burning questions fans have as they watch the trailers over and over again.
As we saw at the end of SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME, Peter Parker is outed by J. Jonah Jameson (J K Simmons). Peter’s life will never be the same again. He needs help and turns to Doctor Strange and magic. As we all know, Magic has consequences and as Doctor Strange says, “Be careful what you wish for Parker.”
Fans will finally get a live-action taste of the Marvel Multiverse, truly introduced in the animated SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE movie. With the appearance of major and familiar villains, Doctor Octopus, Lizard, Green Goblin, Electro and Sandman … could there be one more to make The Sinister Six? Hopefully!
I love that these characters are here and give validation to the old Spider-Man movies of the past. EVERYTHING is cannon now — this is one of those fanboy moments that actually makes me utter squeals of joy! It’s true comic book mastery.
As Peter’s world spirals into ultimate chaos, we can’t forget about Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). Traditionally May has been a pivotal source of vulnerability for Peter through comic history and the previous movies. Her presence has been limited in the trailers but if the world is spiraling out of control we can bet her and Happy Hogan will feel its affects.
Magic, Mayhem and Monsters
A botched spell cast by Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to make people “forget” Peter is Spider-Man is the catalyst to the movies plot BUT it is magic that has become a pivotal focus of Marvel’s cinematic Phase 4.
Its use and universal importance sparked in the Disney+ series WandaVision, where Wanda wielded Chaos Magic to write her own reality. This is where time and space were proven to be manipulatable and even breakable. Breaking timelines was explored and explained in the LOKI series. Magic was also the central theme of Shang Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings.
The spell cast by Doctor Strange, assumingely botched because of Peter’s lack of focus and intention, is what rips time and space, allowing the villains from alternate realities/timelines to show up in our world.
It’s been rumored that Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch is in the new Spider-Man movie. Whether she’s in the film itself or an end-credit, no one knows. Her presence with Doctor Strange in all this “madness” will be a new branch sprouting across Marvel’s Phase 4, especially in DOCTOR STRANGE AND THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS, releasing in Spring 2022.
Where does that leave us? On the precipice of chaos! We all have so many questions and have a full month’s time in between before they get answered. The release of SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME is finally in our line of sight and the epic Marvel movie we have all been craving.
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