Although he was initially presented as a superhero from another universe, Quentin Beck, a.k.a. Mysterio, turned out to be nothing but a devious schemer whose powers were all illusions… which, to be fair, was in keeping with his comic book roots. Jake Gyllenhaal’s version of the character seemingly met his demise towards the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, but he “posthumously” left behind a nefarious parting gift for Peter Parker, and now set photos from Spider-Man 3 have revealed how Mysterio’s presence will be felt in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movie.
In case you need a refresher on Spider-Man: Far From Home, the mid-credits scene saw doctored footage being sent to The Daily Bugle that not only framed Spider-Man for the Elemental attack on London and Mysterio’s death, but also revealed that the Web-Slinger was Peter Parker. The Bugle’s host, J. Jonah Jameson, didn’t waste anytime in broadcasting this footage to the public, so not only does the world know who Spider-Man really is, but Mysterio has been painted as a true superhero. It goes without saying that Peter’s going to have to deal with the lack of anonymity and being chased down by the law when Spider-Man 3 rolls around.
But wait, it gets weirder. As seen in set photos and videos shared by Atlanta Filming and @thehollandclan, propaganda posters featuring Mysterio have been put up. The posters featuring the illusion-caster wearing the fishbowl helmet simply say “I Believe,” while the ones featuring Quentin Beck’s face say those same two words and “Mysterio spoke truth.” Interestingly enough, there’s also a poster that’s partially obscured, but seems to read “Citizens to Defend Spidey.”
This suggests that there’s a public divide over Spider-Man’s innocence in Spider-Man 3, with one group believing he’s the menace that Mysterio made him out to be, while others believe that the Wall-Crawler is the true superhero that we, the moviegoing audience, know him to be. It’s also worth mentioning that “I Believe” calls back to Mysterio’s parting words to Spider-Man in Far From Home, when he told the teenager that “people need to believe, and nowadays, they’ll believe anything.” It’s been speculated that Mysterio actually faked his death and is running around elsewhere in the MCU, but whether or not that’s the case, the impact he’s left behind should not be trivialized.
While specific plot details for Spider-Man 3 haven’t been revealed yet, the movie is shaping up to not just be a wild ride for Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, but the biggest live-action Spider-Man movie yet. Along with Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange re-teaming with Spidey, we’ll also see Jamie Foxx and Alfred Molina return as Electro and Doctor Octopus, respectively. Furthermore it’s been reported that Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Kirsten Dunst and Emma Stone will also reprise their respective roles from the past Spider-Man film series, indicating that this next Spider-Man adventure will be a mutliversal affair ahead of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Even Daredevil’s Charlie Cox has reportedly shot scenes for Spider-Man 3, although it’s unclear if he’d be suiting up as Daredevil proper or only appear as Matt Murdock.
Spider-Man 3 swings into theaters on December 17, 2021, so stay locked on CinemaBlend for progress updates. Learn what else the MCU has on the cinematic horizon with our Marvel movies guide.
