Spider-Man: No Way Home is getting a re-release, and just in time for me to talk about our theory of where all three web-slingers are headed next. All three of them learned from each other, and returned to their own universes while bringing some closure to their arcs. All three, however, still have a story left to tell after this film.
The MCU’s Spider-Man
The Marvel Cinematic Universe was always based off Marvel’s Ultimate Universe. This was sort of a reboot of the comic universe, another version of it made for a 2000s audience who wanted to get into comics for the first time. Samuel L. Jackson plays Nick Fury for the entire series because Fury in the Ultimate comics was designed after Jackson himself. The same thing happened with Robert Downey Jr. and the Tony Stark of that comic line.
Now that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is out of his high school life, instead of following the Ultimate line, I predict that Marvel Studios is going to look to the original run for inspiration. Tom Holland himself hinted at a college storyline happening too. Following the somber conclusion of this trilogy, I think the next one is going to be much smaller and slower paced. Stan Lee himself said the idea behind the character was that as Peter’s life improves Spider-Man’s job gets harder, and vice-versa. It’s already a great basic setup for multiple character-driven films.
The Amazing Spider-Man
Andrew Garfield’s had the worst fate out of all the Spider-Men. Tom Holland completed his trilogy to heaps of praise and excitement, while Tobey went out with a calm and satisfying conclusion to his three-part tale. On the other hand, Andrew only had two films – the first of which was already divisive due to studio meddling in the original vision, which disrupted the tone and pacing of the original vision. The second film got it even worse, as it was a clear attempt by Sony to start their own “Sony Spider-Man Cinematic Universe.”
After being brought back for the latest movie, he proved that he was arguably the best Spider-Man of them all with good writing. Garfield had clearly wanted another shot at playing Spider-Man, but while this movie gave him a second chance, he stated it was still nerve-wracking to keep his appearance a secret throughout filming.
His take on the character has gotten a major resurgence on the Internet thanks to his role in No Way Home. There were a lot of canceled sequels for a third movie that never came to pass. But it might just be happening given the heaps of praise he’s been getting.
His character was hinted at going down a dark path. In No Way Home, Andrew’s Peter said he “stopped pulling his punches.” For me, this means we might be getting a Kraven’s Last Hunt adaptation. In Last Hunt, the hero is buried alive and has to crawl his way back to New York to fight Kraven, who is now impersonating him. He even uses his ability to crawl on walls as a weapon against humans, so it’ll let audiences see some insanely creative action scenes if done right. It’s Spider-Man at his angriest, and is a great chance for Garfield to separate the tone of his character from the others.
Tobey Maguire
Sam Raimi’s already willing to come back for a fourth film with Tobey. He was, originally, until the studio tried to rush him – and that’s when they moved to Andrew Garfield. The original plans for Spider-Man 4 are still out there, including some fully drawn storyboards. The villain was supposed to be the Vulture, surprisingly. Raimi brought a delightfully brutal angle to the fights in his films, so much so that the “torn suit” became an iconic look. Tom Holland also liked the fact that the suit having battle damage was a thing, which is why the fights in No Way Home were a lot more impactful.
Since the plans are out there, and the film’s outline has already been established, there isn’t much to add. I wouldn’t want the events of No Way Home to impact Tobey’s fourth outing much, as it might be his last one and it should be entirely about his Spider-Man.
