Well, we’ve all been waiting for the next Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer, and you know what? It’s a little disappointing. It was what we expected, but less. No hint of other Spider-Men (Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield), no further insight into the multiverse; just straight-up villains from other Spider-Man incarnation movies that we expected to see. Which is fine. If the movie lives up to the multiverse expectations that it’s been teasing for the past year.
As we’ve seen in previous trailers, Doc Ock (Alfred Molina) and Green Goblin (Willem DaFoe) show up to wreak havoc due to Dr. Strange’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) spell to convince the world that they don’t know Spider-Man’s (Tom Holland) true identity gone awry. They both make an appearance early on in the trailer, along with Electro (Jamie Foxx).
We’re soon treated to a monologue by Peter Parker, as he swings through the rain, stating, “Ever since I got bit by that spider, I’ve only had one week where my life has felt normal. That was when you found out.” He’s of course speaking to his girlfriend, MJ (Zendaya).
Things quickly take a darker turn with Doctor Strange lecturing Peter: “When you botched that spell, where you wanted everyone to forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, we started getting some visitors from every Universe.” Here we see Green Goblin from the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man continuity blowing up cars with his pumpkin bombs. Next, electric bolts formulate (from Electro), and we see Peter in a new costume: one which seems completely steel-encapsulated. This seems to be take on the Spider Armor MK. 1 costume, which first appeared in Web of Spider-Man #100. It is a bulletproof spider-suit that was first introduced to combat the New Enforcers and their high-powered guns. Here, all villains seem to be utilizing a bunch of different, weird offensive tactics, so who knows why the extra armor is really here.
Next, we see Doc Oc destroy a highway and the cars upon it, and Spider-Man fighting him only to get pinned upside down against a wall. Doc Oc finally realizes: “You’re not Peter Parker.”
The next scene shows Doc Oc imprisoned by Peter, MJ, and Ned (Jacob Batalon), unable to take his name seriously. Doctor Otto Octavious?? Could this stand within the reality of the current MCU. Not without some ridicule, apparently.
The next shot shows a tower on the waterfront with a huge spinning globe of electricity on its peak. This is followed by Dr. Strange declaring that “there are others out there. We need to send them back.” The next quick scene is very interesting, in that it shows Spider-Man conducting magic with his wrists very similar to that of Dr. Strange. But it is over quickly and without explanation. At which point, Dr. Strange tells Peter, MJ, and Ned to “Scooby-Doo this crap.”
The next scene displays a sandstorm / electrical storm that casts J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) at the forefront. “You’re flying out into the darkness to fight ghosts,” Doc Ock explains. Dr. Strange clears things up by telling Peter that all of these multidimensional villains are meant to die fighting Spider-Man. “It’s their fate.” He’s clearly referencing their demises while fighting the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield incarnations of Spider-Man.
Dr. Strange says that he’s sorry, and Peter says, “Yeah, me too,” before trying to web and take some magical artifact of the doctor’s. This leads to a few quick cuts of Spider-Man fighting Dr. Strange, with Peter pleading, “There has to be another way!” Dr. Strange assures him that there isn’t.
There are further scenes of Spider-Man fighting Electro and Green Goblin. Happy and a tactical squad close in on Spider-Man and company. The next scene shows a tower on the East River casting centrifugal energy off of it much like the fusion experiments Doc Ock conducted in Spider-Man 2. Finally, most of the rest of the Sinister Six are displayed, including Electro, Sandman, and the Lizard leaping around.
Spider-Man tells MJ that this is “all his fault. [He] can’t save everyone." The trailer nearly concludes with MJ falling from a tower and Spider-Man trying to save her. All that’s left is a shot of the Statue of Liberty, surrounded by purple energy. Dr. Strange explains to Spider-Man that “they’re starting to come through. And I can’t stop them.”
It seems the villains of the previous Sony Spider-Man movies have made it through the multiverse rip. But not the other Spider-Men, as far as we can tell. Still, this is a giant leap in the way of multiverses. Spider-Man: No Way Home releases in theaters on December 17, 2021.