Spider-Man and Zendaya meet a bunch of new people in "No Way Home."
There are major revelations about "Spider-Man: No Way Home."
Fans of the movie have been hoping for a big team up.
Hopefully, Sony doesn't make it a one-time thing.
"Spider-Man: No Way Home," now in theaters, finally answers the question every fan has been wondering for months on end: Are Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire reprising their previous "Spider-Man" roles in the film?
Despite Garfield's many emphatic, and almost believable, denials, he and Maguire make a triumphant return in the latest "Spider-Man" installment.
Why wouldn't we show that on the film's opening night?
Let's be realistic. Their appearance in the film is one of the worst kept secrets in Hollywood.
There were very real leaked images online that Sony tried to scrub from existence. Fans were able to figure out the reveals far in advance of the show.
That is fascinating. I can't remember the last time I went into a blockbuster film where almost every major twist or surprise was revealed before the movie started. It's a bit sad and wild. The reveal of three Spider-Men sharing the screen together would've been a better surprise because the returns are handled so well, it doesn't feel contrived or like it was done solely to generate box-office dollars.
For those who don't plan on seeing the film, but still want to be a part of the pop-culture conversation, here's how the reveals come to pass.
A spell went wrong and Garfield and Maguire end up in 'No Way Home'.
Before Tom Holland's version of the character can be seen, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield have to meet each other.
At the beginning of the film, Peter Parker tries to get Doctor Strange to know he's Spider-Man. A spell is cast to make people forget. It doesn't go as planned.
Everyone who knows Spider-Man will see him on their Earth. The villains from every previous live-action "Spider-Man" film start appearing in their universe. That's not limited to just villains.
Ned and Zendaya are waiting to hear from Peter as he tries to wrangle up some of the villains. They start to worry when they don't. Ned is holding onto Doctor Strange's sling ring, a device that allows him to open up portals and travel to other locations.
Ned accidentally opened a portal when he said he wanted to know where Peter was. Spider-Man is walking through an alley. Ned and MJ realized this wasn't their Spider-Man. He's wearing a suit.
The man is showing he's the same person as Garfield in the "The Amazing Spider-Man" movies.
Andrew Garfield is in "The Amazing Spider-Man".
Ned tried to use the sling ring to find Peter after Garfield proved he was a Spider-Man.
Peter Parker is not dressed as Spider-Man, but he is walking through a portal. Both Spider-men were wandering around the universe. When the characters first make eye contact, it leads to a fun moment where they try and disarm one another, skeptical that the other may be an imposter.
Fans would've expected the first scene to be with Holland's Spider-Man, so the reintroduction of the two web-slingers was well done.
It's more meaningful because it's with Peter's two best friends. It's hard to not get emotional watching the moment when the two Spider-Man interact for the first time.
The inclusion of the 3 Spider-men doesn't feel like a stunt. It's a strength of 'NWH.'
"Spider-Man: No Way Home" features Tom Holland as Peter Parker.
Tom Holland is in "Spider-Man: No Way Home".
It's exciting to put every Spider-Man in a movie, but only if it's executed right and with good intention.
It is easy to get these things wrong if they are less than genuine. This year's "Space Jam" sequel is a perfect example. The film felt silly because WB stuffed so much of its recognizable intellectual property into it.
The original actors who played the roles weren't the ones who appeared in the basketball game.
A team of artists was brought in to make up nearly 300 people to look like real people.
The look-alikes of Mr. Freeze, Danny DeVito's Penguin, and the Night King were all dressed in "Party City" costumes. It felt like a cheap nostalgia play to toy with the audience's emotions.
It wasn't Danny DeVito, Arnold Schwarzenegger, or any of the other original cast members in "Space Jam: A New Legacy" that made it feel soulless.
The actors who played the villain and hero roles in "No Way Home" were brought back by Sony. It shows a dedication to doing right by your audience instead of just changing the characters to fit a different story.
It would have been a huge letdown if the two actors did not appear on-screen for a few scenes. They play important roles in the sequel.
They help guide and shape Holland's Spider-Man into learning the life lessons he needs so he can move forward as a solo superhero, one who is guided by the most important Spidey principle: With great power comes great responsibility.
The film "Spider-Man" was directed by Tobey Maguire.
That is something no Avenger could have taught Peter.
The three Spider-men are a highlight. Their inclusion leads to fun discussions about the different ways in which their webs work and the cool villains they've fought. The latter makes Garfield's Spidey feel like he's not up to par compared to the other two and they assure him that's not the case at all.
It's a sweet moment of vulnerability and shows that they're not solely in "No Way Home" to prop up Holland's character.
Fans who felt deprived of a fourth "Spider-Man" film or an abrupt end to Garfield's entries will be happy with the movie. They both have their own villains. Garfield stands out more in this film than in his two previous films.
It's a shame we won't see him play the role again because of how the film ends.
Other studios may try to do the same thing. It would be a mistake if we never saw them again.
If we never see Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man again, that would be fine, but it feels like the actor still has more to offer.
The bond between the three Spider-men is similar to that of three brothers. One of the group is led by the older, wiser, and most responsible person, Maguire. Garfield is the brother who needs more affection than the others. Holland is the little brother who could use some help from his two mentors.
Their interactions felt like one of those fun CW crossover events that are must-see TV every year when the heroes from various DC shows unite. There's not much else to compare it to.
In animation and TV, there have been some popular Crossovers. They were used to help bring in ratings during sweeps weeks, when ratings services like Nielsen measure TV audiences.
It's taken more time for Hollywood to get used to something like live-action in movies.
It really took the animated "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" to prove that there's appetite for seeing these adventures on the big screen as well.
The record-setting "Avengers: Endgame," which brought about every one of the characters in the movie, made it clear that the universe had more reach than a single movie. It earned over $2 billion.
The biggest mistake "No Way Home" makes is closing the door on the possibility of Holland, Garfield, and Maguire's Spider-Men getting together again at a time when other superhero franchises are becoming more interdependent.
At the end of the film, Spideys return home to their own universes with their villains.
WB's upcoming movie "The Flash" looks like it may be able to do something similar when it re-unites Batman with Michael Keaton. There are reports that Batman may appear there as well.
The show and movie universe of Disney and Marvel continues to expand.
The Batman is back in the movie.
It's not clear what Spidey's future is in the Cinematic Universe because of how "No Way Home" ends.
He could be back, but he could stay alone, which is convenient for how Disney and Sony want to share Spidey.
Sony has a built-in audience for its live-action "Spider-Verse." It would be awesome if every third Spider-Man film saw a sequel to the one before it.
The original article is on Insider.
