Sony and Marvel’s upcoming superhero blockbuster Spider-Man: No Way Home is going to deliver a number of crazy surprises, some of them we can predict, and others we’re still left to speculate on. One of the predictable ones, sadly, is the return of Spider-Man 2 star Alfred Molina as Dr. Otto Octavius, aka Doc Ock. I say “sadly” because his presence in the MCU sequel would have been an amazing reveal if the studios had somehow been able to keep it secret. That’s impossible these days, so at least we can start imagining how Otto will change and evolve from the last time that we saw him -- allegedly dying, but maybe not so much -- at the end of Spider-Man 2.
This fan-made art from Venomhology imagines an updated Otto Octavius that deviates from the look we saw in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2. And I really hope that Jon Watts’ Spider-Man: No Way Home takes advantage of that, because Doc Ock has shown multiple looks over the course of his decades-spanning career. Glasses are an essential part of any Octopus, and I love the way that Tom Holland’s Spidey is mirrored in the lenses of this drawing. The shattered Spidey eye lens is a nice touch.
After that, though, this version of Otto Octavius looks like he’s been locked away somewhere, slowly going insane. The beard and long hair suggest a villain who has become obsessed with defeating his adversary. That smile is a sinister indication that Otto has the upperhand on Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. And why wouldn’t he? MCU Peter Parker has never seen Doctor Octopus in action, so you can understand why he’d be caught completely off guard by the arrival of a tentacled menace.
How, exactly, is this going to be possible, while we’re on that subject? Well, from what we have been able to piece together, Spider-Man: No Way Home is expected to explore the concept of the multiverse, which was mentioned briefly in Spider-Man: Far From Home to explain where Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal) came from… even though it eventually was revealed that Mysterio was lying the whole time.
If and when the multiverse is opened, villains from previous Spider-Man franchises (the ones directed by Sam Raimi and Marc Webb) are rumored to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Alfred Molina and Electro actor Jamie Foxx confirmed to appear in the Spider-Man sequel. The rumors that are swirling around Spider-Man: No Way Home also suggest that original Spider men Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield will reprise their versions of the webslinging hero, even though Garfield vehemently denied that rumor earlier this week.
Who do you believe? A lot of this can be cleared up with a trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home, though we likely are a long way off from that. It’s possible that Marvel will attach the trailer to Black Widow when that movie drops on July 9, though that’s also a prime slot for the first Eternals trailer. Right now, Spider-Man: No Way Home lands in theaters on Dec. 17, and we can’t wait to unwrap all of the surprises that Marvel and Sony have up their webbed sleeve.
