Spider-Man 3 is now officially known as Spider-Man: No Way Home, and with its Christmas release date, things have gotten super real quickly for this upcoming Marvel movie. Everyone already had big theories about what the third Tom Holland Spidey movie would be about after Far From Home, and now that we have a title, theories are more rampant than ever.
Obviously a theory is just that, though the odds seem positive that at least one of the popular theories floating around the web will be the actual premise for Spider-Man: No Way Home. With that in mind, here's a rundown of some of the most popular and plausible ones circling the internet.
Peter Is Trapped In Another Multiverse
With WandaVision is all the rage and Doctor Strange And The Multiverse Of Madness on the other end of Spider-Man: No Way Home's release date, there's been a lot of speculation as of late this movie involves the multiverse. In fairness, there was a lot of talk ahead of that as well, as people began to wonder if Sony wouldn't try to incorporate Tom Holland's Spider-Man in with the characters introduced in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.
The main idea is that either Peter is ripped into an adventure in another universe with another Spider-Man, or he's just in another reality. Obviously there are several tweaks and variations on the theories involving the multiverse, but the gist is that the Earth Peter is on is not his own. With "No Way Home," he'll be forced to survive in a place he's not familiar with, along with whoever is there with him. Of course, I expect he'll pull through it well enough, but how could this strange trip affect him in the long run?
Peter Parker Is On The Run
Spider-Man: Far From Home ended with a hard mic drop when J. Jonah Jameson revealed that Spider-Man was responsible for the murder of the "hero" Mysterio. Jameson provided a video that proved the hero was responsible, and then in an added knife twist, revealed live that the superhero's true identity was Peter Parker. The final shot audiences saw was Peter grabbing his head, completely stunned and alarmed by what was happening.
When a hero as prominent as Spider-Man has their identity exposed, it's a real crisis. Now he has to deal with everyone, good or bad, knowing who he is and the consequences that come from it. It's a bit more manageable when you're someone rich and powerful like Tony Stark, but far less so when you're a middle-class teen living in New York. I'd argue it's especially hard if you're also accused of murder and you have no way of proving you didn't do it. It would make total sense that Peter fled town shortly after the announcement, and Spider-Man: No Way Home will see him laying low in some more remote location for the time being.
Peter Is In Prison
This is certainly a more obscure theory than the previous ones presented, but one I love all the same. Many people assume that Spider-Man: No Way Home has to be set in a location where Peter is separated from home by miles upon miles, but he literally could just be locked up behind bars. With the evidence against him and no trial date in sight, Peter could have "no way home" until he gets his fair shake in court.
Now admittedly, it'd be kind of hard to do a whole Spider-Man movie where Peter is in prison. For example, it would be difficult to incorporate the rest of the cast or let Spider-Man do half of the stuff Spider-Man would do. On the same token, how amazing would it be to see goofy-ass Peter Parker trying to hang in prison where there's some villain trying to take him out as he awaits trial? There's some real potential there, even if it's not as strong an options as some of the others.
Spider-Man: Far From Home Takes Place In Space
It's been long speculated that the MCU would commit to the more cosmic forces in the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward, and Spider-Man played a part in helping that situation. Spider-Man: Far From Home revealed that, while Peter Parker was none the wiser, Nick Fury was actually not on Earth as he had claimed. He was in space overlooking threats from a station manned by a bunch of Skrulls, and it was actually Talos filling in for Fury on Earth.
Nick Fury has an eye on the stars and a Spider-Man who has a ton of bad things happening on Earth. Peter may literally feel like he wants to just fall off the planet, and with Nick Fury where he's at now, he could give Peter a way of going off-world until the heat surrounding him dies down. Again, it's not really a plot that's conducive to including the entire rest of the Spider-Man cast we know and love, so maybe not one we'll see, but I'd love to witness some intergalactic Spidey action.
Other Spider-Men Are Trapped In Peter's World
It doesn't matter how much Tom Holland and others may try to deny it, there are some convinced Spider-Man: No Way Home will be bringing in either or both Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire to reprise their roles as Spider-Man. In the case of the title, the thought is that one or both of these characters could be stuck in Peter's world with no way of getting back to their world.
If Peter were looking for proof that he's not actually Spider-Man, who better to help him prove that than a Spider-Man from another universe? Plus, it looks like some familiar faces these other Spider-Men have dealt with before will be appearing in Spider-Man: No Way Home, so their mentorship would be helpful to Tom Holland's Spidey. Obviously it's a bit reckless to get so excited when the lead actor is explicitly telling you not to, but it's a free country, and who's to say Tom Holland might be telling a little fib just to keep people excited?
Spider-Man: No Way Home will arrive Friday, December 17. For more on the Marvel movie, read up on how a recent casting has led to some increased speculation about Daredevil appearing.
