'Spider-Man: No Way Home': 5 Popular Fan Theories

We're a little over a month away from the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home. No Way Home will be the fourth MCU film to hit theatres this year, and is arguably the most highly anticipated, due to the many possibilities opened up by the film's multiverse elements.

Fan theories and speculation about No Way Home have already been high, but it has kicked up to another level now that the film's marketing campaign has truly begun. Here are five of the most popular Spider-Man: No Way Home fan theories.

1. Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield will appear in the film

Ever since the success of the animated Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, fans have been eager for a live-action Spider-verse movie. Many are now convinced that Spider-Man: No Way Home will be that movie, and that Sony's previous Spider-Man actors, Tobey Maguire from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, and Andrew Garfield from the two The Amazing Spider-Man films, will appear alongside the current MCU Spidey, Tom Holland.

While both Holland and Garfield have strongly denied this, a few possible leaks from the No Way Home set seem to confirm the news. The appearance of the alternate Spideys seems even more likely after the latest trailer, which confirms the appearance of multiple villains from both the Raimi Spider-Man and Amazing Spider-Man films. Fans are convinced that Holland's Spidey will need the help of the others to dispatch the villains.

2.Tom Hardy's Venom will appear in the film

In Marvel comics, Venom has a long history as an iconic Spider-Man villain, who in more recent years, has shifted to become an anti-hero. Sony's 2018 Venom film mostly bypassed the villain stage, carrying Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote directly to anti-hero status. Since Venom's release, fans have questioned where Venom fits alongside Tom Holland's Spider-Man films, with both Marvel and Sony offering different answers. For a while, it seemed that any hope of seeing Venom in No Way Home was wishful thinking

Now all of that has changed, with the post-credits scene of the sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, confirming that Venom has a place in the growing Marvel multiverse. In the scene, Eddie and Venom watch as Holland's Peter Parker is exposed as Spider-Man on television. Many fans now expect that Venom will have some role in No Way Home.

3. Matt Murdock will be Peter Parker's lawyer

After Kevin Feige chose to bring all Marvel Television content back 'in-house' at Marvel Studios, all the Marvel TV shows streaming on Netflix were abruptly cancelled, leaving some on rather upsetting cliffhangers. Though the shows were only loosely linked to the MCU, fans mourned the loss of the characters and their stories, but none more so than Daredevil, played by Charlie Cox. Ever since the Daredevil series cancellation, fans have been begging to see Cox reprise his role in the MCU.

When Peter Parker was exposed as Spider-Man and accused of Mysterio's murder in the post-credits scene of Spider-Man: Far From Home, fans began to speculate that Peter would need a lawyer in the following film, and that that lawyer could be Matt Murdock, Daredevil's alter-ego. Marvel has repeatedly tried to debunk this theory, but fans still hold out hope that it could be true.

4. Doc Ock may actually be an ally to Peter

Of the many returning villains in No Way Home, Doctor Otto Octavius, aka Doctor Octopus, played by Alfred Molina, was the first to be revealed. Molina was also the first to expose No Way Home as a multiverse film, after stating that his character’s appearance comes after his supposed death in Spider-Man 2. Fans of the Raimi trilogy will remember that Octavius redeems himself at the end of the film, giving his life to destroy his nuclear reactor before it melts down and destroys New York.

In No Way Home’s most recent trailer, apart from a brief battle, Octavius seems on relatively civil terms with MCU Peter. Fans are now speculating that Doc Ock will ally himself with Peter rather than the villains, possibly reflecting the character’s heroic turn in more recent comics.

5. Garfield Spidey will save MJ

One shot in the No Way Home trailer that has proved particularly troubling for fans is a shot of MJ falling from a crumbling building. Peter immediately jumps to try and save her, but it is unclear whether he will make it.

Fans have noted that the scene is eerily similar to Gwen Stacy's death in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Some have theorised that if the other Spideys are in fact in the film, Garfield's Spider-Man will save MJ from her fall, as redemption for failing to save Gwen in his own film. Some extend this theory to include that Maguire will save Ned, who also ends up dangling from the building, to atone for Harry Osborn's death in Spider-Man 3.

Fans will be eager to see which of their theories prove true when Spider-Man: No Way Home hits the big screen in December.