Spider-Man: No Way Home is a 2021 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, co-produced by Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It is the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), and the 27th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Jon Watts and written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. It stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man alongside Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Benedict Wong, Tony Revolori, Marisa Tomei, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire. In the film, Parker asks Dr. Stephen Strange (Cumberbatch) to use magic to make his Spider-Man identity a secret again following its public revelation at the end of Far From Home. When the spell goes wrong, the multiverse is broken open which allows visitors from alternate realities to enter Parker's universe.
A third MCU Spider-Man film was planned during the production of Homecoming in 2017. Negotiations between Sony and Marvel Studios to alter their deal—in which they produce the Spider-Man films together—ended with Marvel Studios leaving the project in August 2019, but a negative fan reaction led to a new deal between the companies a month later. Watts, McKenna, Sommers, and Holland were set to return, and filming took place from October 2020 to March 2021 in New York City and Atlanta. No Way Home features several actors reprising their roles from the earlier, non-MCU Spider-Man films that were directed by Sam Raimi and Marc Webb, including previous Spider-Man actors Maguire and Garfield. The involvement of both actors was the subject of wide speculation and numerous leaks despite the efforts of Sony, Marvel, and the cast to conceal their involvement.
Spider-Man: No Way Home premiered at the Fox Village Theatre in Los Angeles on December 13, 2021, and was theatrically released in the United States on December 17, as part of Phase Four of the MCU. The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised the story, direction, action sequences, and the cast's performances and chemistry. No Way Home has grossed over $1.6 billion worldwide, surpassing its predecessor as the highest-grossing film released by Sony Pictures. It became the highest-grossing film of 2021, the sixth-highest-grossing film of all time, and set several other box office records, including those for films released during the COVID-19 pandemic. A sequel is currently planned.
Plot
After Quentin Beck frames Peter Parker for murder and reveals his identity as Spider-Man,[N 1] Parker, his girlfriend MJ, best friend Ned Leeds, and aunt May are interrogated by the Department of Damage Control. Lawyer Matt Murdock gets Parker's charges dropped, but the group grapples with negative publicity. After Parker, MJ, and Ned's MIT applications are rejected, Parker goes to the New York Sanctum to ask Stephen Strange for help. Strange casts a spell that would make everyone forget Parker is Spider-Man, but it is corrupted when Parker repeatedly requests alterations to let his loved ones retain their memories. Strange contains the spell to stop it and makes Parker leave.
Parker tries to convince an MIT administrator to reconsider MJ and Ned's applications, but is attacked by Otto Octavius. Octavius rips Parker's nanotechnology from his Iron Spider suit which bonds with his mechanical tentacles and allows Parker to disable them. As Norman Osborn arrives and attacks, Strange teleports Parker back to the Sanctum and locks Octavius in a cell next to Curt Connors. Strange explains that before he was able to contain the corrupted spell it summoned some people from other universes who know Spider-Man's identity. He orders Parker, MJ, and Ned to find and capture them; they are able to locate and retrieve Max Dillon and Flint Marko.
Osborn reclaims control of himself from his split Green Goblin personality. He goes to a F.E.A.S.T. building where May comforts him before Parker retrieves him. While discussing their battles with Spider-Man, Osborn, Octavius, and Dillon realize that they were pulled from their universes just before their deaths.[N 2] Strange prepares to reverse the contained spell and send the villains back to their respective universes, but Parker argues that they should first cure the villains' powers and insanity to prevent their deaths upon their return. Parker steals the spell, traps Strange in the Mirror Dimension, and, with May, takes the villains to Happy Hogan's apartment. He cures Octavius, but Osborn's Goblin persona takes control and convinces the uncured villains to betray Parker. As Dillon, Marko, and Connors escape, the Goblin fatally injures May. Before she dies, May tells Parker that "with great power, there must also come great responsibility".
Ned discovers that he can create portals using Strange's sling ring, which he and MJ use to try to locate Parker. They instead find alternate versions of Parker from the villains' universes who were also summoned by Strange's spell and who are nicknamed "Peter-Two" and "Peter-Three". The group finds this universe's Parker, nicknamed "Peter-One", who is ready to give up and send the villains home. The alternate Parkers share stories of losing loved ones and encourage Peter-One to fight in May's honor, and the three Parkers develop cures for the villains.
The group lure Dillon, Marko, and Connors to the Statue of Liberty. Peter-One and Peter-Two cure Marko and Connors while Octavius arrives to help cure Dillon, and Ned frees Strange from the Mirror Dimension with a portal. The Goblin appears and unleashes the contained spell, which begins pulling more people in from other universes. Strange attempts to hold them off while an enraged Peter-One tries to kill the Goblin. Peter-Two stops him and Peter-Three helps Peter-One inject the Goblin with his cure, restoring Osborn's sanity. Peter-One realizes that the only way to protect the multiverse is to erase himself from everyone's memory and requests that Strange do so, while promising MJ and Ned that he will find them again. The spell is cast and everyone returns to their respective universes—including Eddie Brock,[N 3] who leaves behind a piece of the Venom symbiote. Two weeks later, Parker visits MJ and Ned to reintroduce himself, but decides against it. While mourning at May's grave, he has a conversation with Hogan and is inspired to carry on, making a new suit and resuming his vigilantism.
Cast
- Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man:
A teenager and Avenger who received spider-like abilities after being bitten by a radioactive spider.[5] The film explores the fallout of Spider-Man: Far From Home's (2019) mid-credits scene, in which Parker's identity as Spider-Man is exposed,[6] and Parker is more pessimistic in contrast to previous Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films. Holland said Parker feels defeated and insecure and was excited to explore the darker side of the character.[7] The adjustment back to portraying Parker, including raising his voice pitch and returning to the mindset of a "naïve, charming teenager", was strange for Holland after taking on more mature roles such as in Cherry (2021).[8] - Zendaya as Michelle "MJ" Jones-Watson:
Parker's classmate and girlfriend.[9][10][11] The character's full name is revealed in the film, having previously just been known as Michelle Jones, bringing her closer to the comics counterpart Mary Jane Watson.[10] - Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange:
A neurosurgeon who became a Master of the Mystic Arts following a career-ending car accident.[12] Holland felt Strange was not a mentor to Parker, unlike Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), but instead saw them as colleagues and noted their relationship breaks down throughout the course of the film.[13] Cumberbatch felt there was a close relationship between Strange and Parker because both are neighborhood superheroes with a shared history.[14] Co-writer Chris McKenna described Strange as the voice of reason in the film.[15] - Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds: Parker's best friend.[16][10] Batalon lost 102 pounds (46 kg) for his role in this film.[17]
- Jon Favreau as Harold "Happy" Hogan: The head of security for Stark Industries and former driver and bodyguard of Tony Stark, who looks after Parker.[18]
- Jamie Foxx as Max Dillon / Electro:
An Oscorp electrical engineer from an alternate reality who gained electric powers after an accident involving genetically-modified electric eels. Foxx reprises his role from Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014).[16][19] The character was redesigned for No Way Home, foregoing his original blue Ultimate Marvel-based design in favor of a yellow one more similar to his mainstream comic book appearance.[20] - Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin:
A scientist and the CEO of Oscorp from an alternate reality who tested an unstable strength enhancer on himself. He developed an insane split personality as a result and uses advanced Oscorp armor and equipment. Dafoe reprises his role from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy.[21] Dafoe felt Green Goblin had advanced from his portrayal in Spider-Man (2002) and had "a few more tricks up [his] sleeves" in this film.[22] Dafoe was digitally de-aged for the role,[23] and the character also obtains upgrades to his costume to make him more closely resemble his comic book counterpart.[22] - Alfred Molina as Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus:
A scientist from an alternate reality with four artificially intelligent mechanical tentacles fused to his body after an accident. Molina reprises his role from Raimi's Spider-Man 2 (2004),[24] with this film continuing from the character's story prior to his death in that film. Molina was surprised by this approach because he had aged in the years since he made that film and no longer had the same physicality; digital de-aging was also used to make him look physically the same as in Spider-Man 2.[25] The mechanical tentacles were created completely through CGI, rather than a blend of puppetry and CGI as in Spider-Man 2.[26][23] - Benedict Wong as Wong: Strange's mentor and friend who became the new Sorcerer Supreme during Strange's absence in the Blip.[27][18]
- Tony Revolori as Eugene "Flash" Thompson: Parker's classmate and former rival.[28]
- Marisa Tomei as May Parker:
Parker's aunt.[29] While developing the story, the writers realized that May would play a role similar to Uncle Ben's role in other incarnations of Spider-Man. As such, the thematic and often-paraphrasing-quoted phrase "with great power, there must also come great responsibility" is said by May, since she has been the "moral guide" for Parker in the MCU.[30] - Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker / Spider-Man:
An alternate version of Parker who is haunted by his failure to save his deceased girlfriend, Gwen Stacy.[31][30] Garfield reprises his role from Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man films.[32][33] The other Spider-Men refer to him as "Peter-Three",[34] while Marvel's official website named him "The Amazing Spider-Man".[35] Garfield embraced his role as the middle brother of the group and was interested in exploring the idea of a tortured Parker following the events of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, including how lessons from those events could be passed to Holland's character.[30] He was grateful for the chance to "tie up some loose ends" for his incarnation of Parker, and described working with Holland and Maguire as an opportunity to have "deeper conversations... about our experiences with the character".[36] - Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker / Spider-Man:
An alternate version of Parker who utilizes organic webbing instead of web shooters like his alternate counterparts.[37] Maguire reprises his role from Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy.[32][33] The other Spider-Men refer to him as "Peter-Two",[34] while Marvel's official website named him the "Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man".[35] Maguire wanted the film to reveal only minimal details about what happened to his character after the events of Spider-Man 3 (2007).[30]
Rhys Ifans reprises his role as Dr. Curt Connors / Lizard, an Oscorp scientist from Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) who transformed into a large reptilian monster while trying to regrow his missing arm. Thomas Haden Church reprises his role as Flint Marko / Sandman, a small-time thief from Raimi's Spider-Man 3 who received sand-like abilities following an accident.[21] Both Ifans and Church returned to voice the characters, though footage at the end of the film when they revert to their human forms was archival footage from The Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man 3, respectively.[38] Charlie Cox reprises his role as Matt Murdock from Marvel Television's Netflix series,[39] and Tom Hardy reprises his roles as Eddie Brock and Venom from Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) in an uncredited cameo appearance in the mid-credits scene.[40]
Reprising their roles from previous MCU Spider-Man films are Angourie Rice as Betty Brant, Parker's classmate and Leeds's ex-girlfriend;[41] Hannibal Buress as Coach Wilson, Midtown School of Science and Technology's gym teacher;[42] Martin Starr as Roger Harrington, Parker's academic decathlon teacher;[43] J. B. Smoove as Julius Dell, Parker's teacher;[44] and J. K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, the host of TheDailyBugle.net.[45][46] Jake Gyllenhaal appears as Quentin Beck / Mysterio via archive footage from Far From Home.[47] Also appearing in the film are Paula Newsome as an MIT administrator,[43] Arian Moayed as Department of Damage Control Agent Cleary,[47] Mary Rivera as Ned's grandmother,[43] and Cristo Fernández as a bartender serving Brock.[40] Holland's brother Harry was set to make a cameo as a drug dealer, after doing the same in Cherry,[48] but his scenes were cut from the theatrical release.[49] Lexi Rabe, who portrayed Stark's daughter Morgan in Avengers: Endgame (2019), also had an appearance that was not included in the theatrical release.[50]
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