Alright Spidey fans, it’s time to read carefully because I have a theory for the next Spider-man movie that might just blow your web-headed minds! I understand that the latest live action Spidey movie was released just over two full years ago at this point, but this theory has been rattling around in my brain ever since. Now that I have the resources to reach a wide audience, I felt the time was right. Based on the suspenseful cliffhanger that Spider-man: No Way Home left off on you may think that I am talking solely about Tom Holland’s next Spider-man movie. However, as you continue to read you will come to the realization that not only has No Way Home opened the doors to infinitely new possibilities in the MCU, but for the entire multiverse. In addition to No Way Home, another two movies that connect the dots to my theory I am about to divulge to you are Morbius and Venom 2 (specifically the post-credits scene). Now, I understand that Morbius did not exceed expectations with the critics nor with the fans, but this film may be much more important than anyone may realizes.
Like many of you, I too couldn’t help but fantasize about the infinite possibilities that lied ahead after the release of the final Spider-man: No Way Home Trailer. It was already confirmed that a few favorites from the original Spider-man movies starring Tobey Maguire would return such as the Green Goblin, Doc Ock, and Sandman. For months we all heard how it was pretty much guaranteed that we would see Tobey again, but those rumors all felt so surreal. A part of us didn’t even want to believe that could happen because we didn’t want to face the disappointment of sitting through a movie for two and a half hours just to find out we got our hopes up for nothing. It’s like MJ says, “expect disappointment and you’ll never be disappointed.”
Not only did we see villains from Sam Raimi’s Spider-man reprising their roles, but we also saw two villains from the Andrew Garfield Spider-man movies such as the Lizard and Electro. For the longest time Garfield was denying that he was going to appear in No Way Home alongside Holland and Maguire. Interview after interview he was bombarded, and some may even say interrogated with questions regarding his potential involvement in the project. Each time he gave a version of the same answer which was that he did not receive a call from anyone about being a part of it. However, given the fact that the Lizard and Electro were both confirmed to be in the film it seemed to only make sense that Garfield was in fact in the loop and he was only trying to keep the fans surprised. Let’s face it, we’re all a bit grateful for his ability to contain spoilers because I’m sure we all enjoyed that surprise, especially after we all tried so hard to lower our seemingly unrealistic expectations.
As luck would have it both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield were back on the big screen giving us fans pretty much everything we wanted…or is it fair to say we expected more? Now I know that sounds greedy but hear me out. The trailer showed us a total of five familiar villains all of whom are members of the Sinister Six aka the Insidious Six in one version or another of the comics and previous tv shows. However, that means there was room for one more villain to complete this theory. If you watched Venom 2 and stayed until the post-credits scene you saw that Eddie Brock aka Venom was transcended into Tom Holland’s Spider-man universe aka the MCU.
Venom was teleported into a hotel room which had the news playing on the television in the background talking about how Peter Parker was revealed to be Spider-man. Intrigued, Venom feasted his eyes upon the young Peter Parker and licked the screen as if he were on a mission to hunt him down. Now that Venom was in the MCU, that all but confirmed my theory. Venom clearly wanted to find Peter Parker for any number of reasons and once he found him the other villains would find him and recruit him thus proving the MCU’s mission to bring the infamous Sinister Six to fruition.
In addition to these factors, there was a glimpse of a scene in the trailer where you saw a large figure swimming rapidly towards a battle between Spider-man and the other villains. I thought this may be Venom but as I watched the movie, I realized it was the Lizard. As I realized my theory was off by just one character I was filled with disappointment, but then it happened. Reality started to break in front of their very eyes. You can see the figures of several infamous Spider-man villains breaking through the purple sky, breaking through their reality. As Peter Parker realized the gravity of the situation he requested that Doctor Strange cast a spell that would make it so no one ever knew him to keep reality from crumbling because with great power comes great responsibility.
After Strange cast the spell, all was back to normal for everyone but poor Peter Parker…or was it? If you watched Spider-man: No Way Home and its mid-credits scene, the post-credits scene from Venom 2, and Morbius along with its post-credits scene you know a few essential details that support my theory. You know that Eddie Brock aka Venom was sent back to his universe, and Vulture from Tom Holland’s universe was teleported into the same universe as Morbius and that he propositioned Dr. Michael Morbius during that end credit scene clearly indicating some kind of teammate in the future. In addition to these factors, there were plenty of hints in the trailer for Morbius. During the trailer he says to one of his victims, “I am Venom,” indicating that Venom is a part of his universe. Another key detail in the trailer is when Michel Morbius walks past a wall with a picture of the wallcrawler with the word, “murderer,” written across him in graffiti. At first it appeared to be the original suit worn by Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker but during No Way Home, Andrew Garfield aka Peter 3 revealed that due to his grief for the loss of Gwen Stacy he was so fueled by such an overwhelming sensation of grief that he eventually stopped pulling his punches thus indicating that the graffiti was talking about Garfield’s Spider-man and not Maguire’s.
Now let’s consider all the information provided. We have concluded that Morbius and Venom are in the same universe and Vulture has now joined their world. In this world, Spider-man not only exists, but is considered a murderer by some individuals and we know that Peter 3 stopped pulling his punches. Spider-man is already incredibly strong so imagine how easy it would be for him to kill someone even if he didn’t pull his punches. So far, we have Venom, Morbius, and Vulture. That leaves three more spots open to complete the roster.
The Rhino, who is also a part of one of the versions of the Sinister Six, makes an appearance not once, but twice in the Amazing Spider-man 2. Not only does the Rhino make an appearance, but so does the Green Goblin and Electro therefore completing the roster for the ultimate team up. However, after No Way Home the theory was that once all the villains were sent back to where they came from, they would all go back to the last place they were and for some that meant death such as Electro. However, there was a small teaser that made it seem as if Electro was still alive as he flickered with electricity while unconscious. I did NOT find all of these specific characters appearing at the same or similar times to be a coincidence. In fact, I felt as if they were building up to a Sinister Six movie, not with Tom Holland and not with Tobey Maguire, but with Andrew Garfield for the Amazing Spider-man 3 to complete his trilogy.
Although I have already mentioned plenty of characters to complete the lineup for the Sinister Six the MCU still has some flexibility. Mysterio may have died in Spider-man: Far From Home but when it comes to the multiverse, is anyone ever truly gone? Plus, it is very conceivable that his death was only another illusion to gain the upper hand on Peter Parker in the future after he realized he wasn’t going to beat him. He is yet another one of Spidey’s titular villains that decided to join forces as one of the members of the Insidious Six alongside Kraven the Hunter and the Scorpion. Fans have been waiting patiently for a live action Kraven and their patience has finally paid off as we gear up for the release of Kraven the Hunter coming to theaters as soon as 2024! As they add a new but old character into the Spider-verse they have the opportunity to include him as one of the Sinister members. Seeing Andrew and Tobey reprise their roles alongside Tom Holland was a dream come true and a piece of cinematic history. It would have been legendary to see a trio of wallcrawlers and webslingers fight the Sinister Six together but now that the opportunity has passed, I don’t think they will bring them back for that. Instead, the best move and the move I think they are going to make now that the multiverse is fractured is to bring in a live action Spider-Gwen played by Emma Stone to unite with Andrew Garfield’s webslinger to take down the most diabolic team up in Spider-man’s history. It would give Garfield’s Spider-man a chance at redemption that he so desperately desires and would be a perfect end to a fantastic trilogy especially if the version of Gwen Stacy lost her Peter Parker therefore giving them both a shot at redemption. They could have their happy ending…
