Within the last week alone, Marvel has dropped the second official Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer, a new official poster, and leaked photos of Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire have started circulating the internet. The leaked photos in question depict all three Spider-Men from each film series, implying that Garfield and Maguire will be returning for the MCU Spider-Man trilogy finale, despite vehement denials from all actors.
Whether or not these leaked photos are actually official MCU content is debatable, but the drop of the No Way Home trailer so soon after their accidental release does make it seem like Marvel is trying to draw attention away from the disclosure of the photos. However, the new trailer seems to have done the complete opposite, as Marvel fans take to social media to share their keen observations and detailed theories about the trailer, simultaneously generating a ton of buzz about Garfield and Maguire’s return in the last twenty-four hours.
Garfield and Maguire’s presence in the MCU was confirmed when Doctor Octopus pinned Holland’s Spider-Man and announced that he wasn’t Peter Parker, meaning Maguire’s Peter Parker is the one he was expecting to see. This proves that Holland, Garfield and Maguire do exist within various branches of the MCU multiverse, putting that question to rest. Now, fans want to know whether or not Garfield and Maguire will be reprising their Spider-Man roles in the No Way Home movie and for how long.
Luckily, a few scenes from the No Way Home trailer share strikingly similar visuals to the leaked photos, which could have just confirmed Garfield and Maguire's appearance in the film for certain.
The first, and most revealing, scene comes at the end of the trailer. In this scene, Holland’s Spider-Man is climbing a bunch of scaffolding and facing off against three different villains, Electro, Sandman and the Lizard. In the leaked photo of Holland, Garfield, and Maguire, the three of them were standing on top of scaffolding by a large body of water, just like Holland’s Spider-Man was seen climbing at the end of the trailer.
Besides the visual similarities, other fans have noticed that in this scene, the Lizard is jumping towards an unseen force. This has led to speculation that the three villains in the scene weren’t all targeting Holland’s Spider-Man, but each villain was going after a single Spider-Man. Viewers with exceptional attention to detail also pointed out that during this scene, Lizard seems to have been punched, because his head suddenly snaps backwards. Once again, the opposing force is invisible, which has led some to believe that Garfield and Maguire’s Spider-Men are also in the scene, but were removed from the trailer in an attempt to shock audiences with their arrival once the movie hits theaters.
There are a few other brief scenes scattered throughout the trailer where Holland’s Spider-Man is standing on the scaffolding, indicating that something big is going to go down in that location. Quite frankly, there’s nothing bigger than all versions of Spider-Man, past and present, uniting forces to take down villains from each of their respective timelines.
The new movie poster also gave fans confirmation that the infamous Green Goblin will be coming back, sparking hope that the Sinister Six will be taking the MCU by storm as Phase 4 continues. Both Vulture and Mysterio made their debut in Holland’s previous Spider-Man films, and with confirmation of Green Goblin for No Way Home, all of the original Sinister Six villains are now officially part of the MCU. For long-time comic book fans, the introduction of these characters is huge, so the only thing that could possibly top it would be if Garfield and Maguire came back to battle it out alongside Holland.
Besides the leaked photos that have supposedly confirmed Garfield and Maguire, there’s also speculation that Netflix’s Daredevil will play a part in helping Peter and Strange stop the villains from wreaking havoc on their timeline. With so many new characters confirmed and rumored to be in No Way Home, it can be hard to keep things straight, but both Tom Holland and Marvel Studios have promised fans that Spider-Man: No Way Home will be one of the biggest MCU movies yet.
Fans are holding No Way Home to high expectations, meaning the absence of Garfield and Maguire would be a major disappointment. However, given the melding of timelines, the leaked photos, the parallels to previous Spider-Man films, and the sleuthing skills of fans, it’s nearly impossible to think that Garfield and Maguire won’t at least make a cameo in the film.
There’s officially one month until Spider-Man: No Way Home hits theaters, so there could easily be a lapse in new content from the film. Garfield and Maguire’s roles in the movie will surely stay underwraps until the release, but things are certainly looking up for fans who were itching for a Spidey team-up.
Spider-Man: No Way Home hits theaters December 17, 2021.