Spider-Man: No Way Home's first trailer has finally arrived, and it's done nothing to cool the rampant speculation surrounding this movie. Fans are talking more than ever about which characters will appear, in addition to the ones that are already confirmed to arrive, as well as villains we believe will be in the movie based on hints from the trailer. For those unfamiliar, we have Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus, Jamie Foxx's Electro and Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin confirmed, with potential clues from the trailer suggesting Lizard and Sandman will also appear.
In total, that would give us five notable Spider-Man villains, and if we added one more, we'd have what one could call a "Sinister Six." Obviously, fans have wanted to see Spider-Man go up against the supervillain team, and Spider-Man: No Way Home may be an opportunity for that. Assuming we're on the money with the unconfirmed villain appearances, let's speculate a bit on who the sixth member of the team could be.
Mysterio
Mysterio died at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home... but did he actually? The villain's entire gimmick is his ability to deceive and smokescreen people, so wouldn't it be the perfect con job for Mysterio's plan for revenge on Tony Stark didn't actually result in his death? I think it's entirely possible that Mysterio is still alive, and if he is, then we'd almost certainly see him appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Plus, imagine the irony of a movie where Peter Parker and Doctor Strange worked to undo Spider-Man's identity when Peter was never actually "guilty" of killing Mysterio. Of course, we all know that Peter didn't kill the villain, but nothing would prove that to the general populace better than the living and breathing version of the "hero" they worshipped in Spider-Man: Far From Home. He'd certainly be a nice villain to cap-off the Sinister Six... again, assuming that's a thing in this movie.
Scorpion
Spider-Man's arch-nemesis Scorpion is seen often in comics and cartoons, but fans may not remember his big-screen debut. Those who do will point to Spider-Man: Homecoming, when he attempted to buy weapons from Vulture and was played by Better Call Saul star Michael Mando. We never got to see Mac Gargan get his iconic costume and exact his revenge on Tom Holland's Spider-Man, but maybe there's a chance in Spider-Man: No Way Home?
Let's also remember that Scorpion pressed Vulture for details on Spider-Man's identity, and as far as we know, he was not given them. With Peter Parker's identity now publicly known, Mac Gargan would have all he needed to band together with a bunch of other villains and get some vengeance. Of course, it would appear by the title of the movie that we won't see a ton of Peter in his actual multiverse. But we don't know that for sure, so it's still a possibility, especially with the prospects of variants or the blending of universes. Ugh, I'm getting a headache just thinking about it.
Venom (Topher Grace)
The world is ready to see Tom Hardy's Venom and Tom Holland's Spider-Man in a movie together, but with Venom: Let There Be Carnage's potential delay that may push it after Spider-Man: No Way Home, I wouldn't hold my breath on that cameo happening soon. Plus, Tom Hardy's Venom isn't exactly a villain at the moment, but there is a cinematic Venom we've seen who is. That's right, there could be a chance we see Topher Grace's Venom return and go up against Spider-Man.
Hey, if we're already entertaining rumors of Sandman coming back, wouldn't it be reckless to not consider the possibility of Spider-Man 3's main third act villain returning? I'd love to see Topher Grace take another crack at the character, especially outside of a movie like Spider-Man 3. Who knows, maybe with updated CGI and a movie that doesn't have an emo Peter Parker, Grace could really shock us with an amazing one-off performance as Venom.
Rhino
The Amazing Spider-Man movies have a lot of characters who never quite got the respect they deserved, especially in the Tom Holland era. These films are the forgotten middle child in between the Sam Raimi classics and the Kevin Feige new hotness. What I'm trying to say is, I waited a long time to see a live-action version of Rhino on the big screen, and dammit, I can't help but feel a little cheated we got so little time with him.
Paul Giamatti was an odd choice to play Aleksei Sytsevich, but let's not act like he didn't fully commit to one of the most bizarre roles of his career. Not only do I want to see Giamatti play the character again, but I have an additional request. I'd like to see Giamatti back as a variant of Rhino, but he's just a buff dude in a muscle suit. I mean, it's definitely too late to make any requests (and it seems like he's already been picked over), but if by the end of this movie the whole multiverse situation isn't resolved, take notes, Marvel.
Vulture
Michael Keaton and superhero movies: is there anything better? Don't answer that, and instead focus on how awesome his performance as Vulture was in Spider-Man: Homecoming and how we haven't gotten more of his character in the time since (though we will eventually). That's a damn shame, and it could certainly be rectified in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Of course, we have no idea how busy Michael Keaton may have been during filming, especially considering he's due to re-appear as Batman in The Flash. I'm not going to sit here and say I wholeheartedly believe he'd be the sixth member of The Sinister Six alliance, but he would be the most obvious option in my mind from Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Kingpin
Kingpin is the only villain on this list who hasn't appeared in an actual Spider-Man. movie, but there's a good reason why he's included. There have been tons of rumors that Charlie Cox will reprise his role as Matt Murdock/Daredevil in Spider-Man: No Way Home, perhaps as Peter Parker's attorney. Should Daredevil appear, it would only make sense that Kingpin is involved given his history with both him and Spider-Man in the comics.
If Charlie Cox is back, then it's almost mandatory that Vincent D'Onofrio return to play Kingpin. D'Onofrio's portrayal as Wilson Fisk was one of the things that put Netflix's Daredevil series on the map, and he's deserved a slot in the MCU for a while just for that performance alone. If ever there was a time for it to happen, this is it.
Shocker
Last, but certainly not least, let's not forget there was yet another Spider-Man villain involved in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Herman Schultz, also known as Shocker, is another iconic Spider-Man villain who could appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home as a prospective member of The Sinister Six. He's definitely an option, but one has to wonder if Shocker doesn't create redundancy in this supervillain lineup.
No disrespect to Shocker, but what does he bring to the table that Electro doesn't? That alone makes me a bit skeptical, but to be entirely clear, we're not even sure three villains of this "Sinister Six" will for sure be in Spider-Man: No Way Home. We do know Electro will appear though, which does make me wonder if Marvel would double-down on two "shocking" villains when there are other options available.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is set to premiere Friday, December 17. CinemaBlend is all in on opinions about the upcoming Spider-Man movie, so be sure to check out our thoughts on Doctor Strange, as well as other stuff that may come up closer to the release date.
