(For those who have somehow not seen Spider-Man: No Way Home, be warned… there are spoilers ahead!)
If you’re reading this, I am willing to bet you have seen Tom Holland’s third installment of the Spider-Man franchise on the big screen or at least watched the sneaky recordings people took in the theaters and posted on Tik Tok. I personally loved it so much I went twice and am now currently awaiting April 12th, when the Blu-ray is released and I can finally watch it whenever the mood strikes.
Quite a few months ago, in anticipation of the cultural phenomenon of the film, I compiled some of the creative theories I’d seen floating around on the internet into an article you can find here. Now, it’s time to see how my predictions held up!
- Andrew Garfield and Toby Maguire’s involvement: I didn’t want to get too attached to the theory just in case it didn’t come true, but in a jaw-dropping and wish-fulfilling fashion, it did. I am glad Tom Holland managed to keep this a secret from us and proud of Andrew Garfield for holding up throughout his Tick Tick Boom press tour.
- Sony taking back the franchise: Thankfully, Marvel and Sony are still working together, though I really do wish Disney would make the jump and purchase it so I can find the movies on Disney+!
- An introduction to Miles Morales: Though Miles didn’t make an appearance, there was a little wink as to his existence when Peter 3 and Electro reunited. I would LOVE to see a fourth Spidey join the family!
- Sinister Six: Though my thoughts about the infamous villainous team showing up weren’t right, Green Goblin, Doc Ock, and Venom did end up in the movie! I’ll count it as being halfway right.
- Daredevil’s entrance: Matt Murdock indeed made a subtle debut into the MCU which has resulted in further hints from Kevin Feige that he will be popping up in future projects.
- Something strange with Doctor Strange: The internet was mighty worried that there was something mysterious afoot– perhaps involving Mephisto or Loki– but those fears turned out to be unfounded.
- A dramatic and important death: I cited MJ and Happy as the two I was worried about dying, and though MJ came a little too close (thanks for the save, Andrew!), I never suspected Aunt May. I fear I will never recover from that one!
I think that for an amateur Marvel sleuth, I did pretty good! Some of my favorite theories were only half right, so I can’t count them as successes, but I give myself a tentative 3.5/7. I’ll take it!
I must conclude by saying that the experience of seeing the movie myself far surpassed the scope of the predictions and my imagination. I don’t know if I’ll ever have another theater-going experience quite like it ever again, but if the rumors are to be believed, there is another Spider-Man trilogy in our future. With any luck, I’ll have more webtastic news to report!