What’s next for Marvel Studios? Who’s recently joined the cast of your most anticipated series or film? Where can you find the teasers and trailers? Look no further, true believers. Everything you need to know about the future of the MCU has been collected for you here. Click on each logo to learn what we currently know about the upcoming MCU projects.
Sony’s upcoming animated film, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, is one of the most anticipated superhero films of the year. The sequel to the wildly successful 2018 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse will introduce Miles Morales to a team of Spiders who seek to protect the existence of the Multiverse. And, as the new trailer for the project reveals, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is part of the Multiverse!
Among those aforementioned Spiders out to protect the Multiverse is the prickly Miguel O’Hara, voiced by Oscar Isaac. As the trailer explains, the network of Spiders was brought together by O’Hara and he does NOT want Miles sniffing around telling him, “you can never be part of this“; however, Miles isn’t the only Spider who isn’t welcome. After bluntly telling Miles to take a hike, O’Hara says “Don’t even get me started on Doctor Strange and the little nerd back on Earth-199999!” in a clear reference to the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
As shocking as this reference to the events of a movie set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe might be to some, it’s important to remember that Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios collaborate on the MCU-set Spider-Man films and that this isn’t the first time one of Sony’s projects shared some connective tissue with the MCU. Spider-Man: Now Way Home‘s post-credit scene revealed that Tom Hardy‘s Eddie Brock was one of the characters to jump to the MCU during the film and while he jumped back, he left a piece of his symbiote behind.
After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. However, when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders. He must soon redefine what it means to be a hero so he can save the people he loves most.
Synopsis for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
There’s no telling what other plans Sony has in store for the Multiverse introduced in their animated Spider-Verse films. The upcoming live-action film, Madame Web, could certainly play with some of the Multiversal themes introduced in these projects and the studio would certainly like to see Spidey star Tom Holland share the screen with Hardy’s Venom at some point. We’ll only have to wait just a bit longer to see if there are any other MCU Easter eggs or references to Sony’s live-action films as Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse hits theaters on June 2nd.
Spider-Man: No Way Home may have gone through some of the most changes throughout its production. A multiverse storyline featuring former Spider-Man villains was strongly dependent on actor availability that could make the film work. Plus, some may have only joined later in the pre-production schedule which may have also led to many last-minute changes to make it work.
Somehow the film still managed to pull it off and offer a nostalgic but very personal storyline about loss. Storyboard artist Phil Langone has shared a new storyboard from the film’s earliest days that reveals Jake Gyllenhaal‘s Mysterio originally had a role in the film. It seems that he was going to be responsible for the death of Aunt May, which would eventually carry over to Willem Dafoe‘s Green Goblin in the final product.
The mention of “one of” further hints that there may have been quite a few more different potential scenarios on how this sequence came to be. There’s also a chance that they were creating different scenarios to ensure that not every detail would manage to leak online, as the film was surrounded by quite a few leaks building up to its release.
Still, there’s a lot of potential for knowing that there are plans for Mysterio potentially to return. Of course, this could’ve also been a version from another dimension, as it would’ve been fun to see Sam Raimi‘s original vision for the character with Bruce Campbell in the role. Perhaps we’ll see if some concepts return in the inevitable fourth entry.
Source: Instagram
Spider-Man: No Way Home was a major release back in 2020, as it not only brought back one of Marvel’s most iconic characters to the silver screen but also acted as a gateway into the multiverse storyline of the new Marvel Cinematic Universe saga. Yet, the film managed to be so much more than that with some great performances from the MCU characters and those that made their grand return from past entries of the many iterations this franchise has seen.
Somehow, in a film with Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire, it does seem like the return of Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock stole the show. Not only was it the first time the actor made his cinematic appearance but it also finally added some weight to the Netflix series happening. It seems the character is going to make a return ahead of his new Disney+ series, as a new Funko has been unveiled for the character inspired by his look in the film.
Matt Murdock always had a signature style and it’s great to see the love put into bringing his Funko to life. It’s not the first one from Cox‘s version of the character but it’s still something fans will definitely want to get their hands on. It’s also interesting that a whole line of new figurines is coming out from Spider-Man: No Way Home, especially for those that haven’t gotten one due to Sony trying its best to stay tight-lipped on their appearance in the film. The Funko is a limited edition over at Entertainment Earth so get it while its hot.
Source: Entertainment Earth
It’s not new that Marvel Studios’ productions go through a variety of changes. Not only do they rewrite the scripts before production starts, but they aren’t strangers to also adapting on the fly if necessary. That especially became a necessity during COVID, as the pandemic didn’t make it easy for any production to stay on schedule or even remain in its original slot, forcing it to adapt story elements to adhere to the bigger Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In the case of Spider-Man: No Way Home, we always wondered just how much was changed throughout production, especially with the inclusion of a variety of actors from legacy projects. There was one aspect that stood out from No Way Home and that was the lack of any villains representing Tom Holland‘s Spider-Man. As it turns out, Storyboard artist Phil Langone shared a drawing from one of the finales that seemingly includes Michael Keaton‘s Vulture as part of the ensemble.
It was always funny how the film had the opportunity to establish the Sinister Six but ended up short one member. Perhaps during or before production started, they simply couldn’t get the version of the story together as they intended. Perhaps Keaton wasn’t available for the film, as he did end up reprising the role in Morbius. Whatever the case might be, we’re sadly stuck with what could’ve been off seeing a fully formed Sinister Six and the return of a great villain. Perhaps a future project could see his long-awaited return.
Source: Instagram
The advantage of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s introduction of Spider-Man was that we skipped a big part of his origin. Most viewers already know the story of a kid that was bit by a radioactive spider. So, it made sense not to retread the same ground that the previous two entries did. Yet, it seems that while they had an idea of how they’d set the origin o the character, but never truly worked out the details according to director Jon Watts in Sean O’Connell‘s new book With Great Power.
I mean, God knows there would have to be something not unlike that, probably… But no, I wouldn’t say… I mean, I think he was bitten by a radioactive spider on a field trip. We never talked about that either, but I think that’s what happened.
Jon Watts
It’s curious that they never set the idea of how he got his powers and does make you wonder if they are keeping it open to potentially explore it in the future. There are ties to the character of Silk that could potentially be explored if they wanted to return to the fateful day of the spider bite. Still, Watts was quite happy not to retread that same ground.
It was just so nice to skip past it and just deal with more with the repercussions… and just explore it from the perspective of someone else finding out about it and having a lot of questions.
Jon Watts
That freedom definitely gave the trilogy a more distinct storyline, especially with how No Way Home essentially gave the MCU’s Spider-Man his Uncle Ben moment. While some hardcore fans weren’t the biggest fans of the character’s place in the bigger universe, it was a clever take on his mythos that combined older elements from the comics’ earlier days with some modern takes.
Source: The Direct
As Marvel Studios prepares its future phases and the Multiverse Saga, there is still one key character seemingly missing on the horizon. After making a massive splash at the box office during the pandemic, Spider-Man: No Way Home took our favorite wall-crawler to his limits as he faced Variants, tragedy, and a world that has forgotten who he is. It raised the question of what the future might have in store for him beyond the lurking Symbiote left behind by a multiversal visitor.
The ending of that project highlighted a potentially new direction, as Spider-Man was no longer a well-recognized face without his mask. The entire world has forgotten Peter Parker and he’s lost everyone dear to him. Without Aunt May or his friends by his side, he now has to do his best to cover rent, follow up on his education, and balance life as Spider-Man. The future seems difficult and challenging for our favorite hero.
At the same time, it opens up a new challenge for Marvel Studios and whoever may take over the franchise. While Spider-Man: Homecoming was a bit more grounded, he still was shackled under the shadow of his mentor and an Avenger. His first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe had him take on Captain America, he would travel into space, take down Thanos alongside his army, fight fake elementals, join Nick Fury’s mission, and so much more.
No Way Home brings magic and the multiverse to Spidey’s corner of the MCU, which seemed like the perfect high point for the development of this trilogy. Yet, it opens up the question of: where do you go now? Any higher and we might lose any fabric of what defines Spider-Man. We already had five films before this trilogy. So, it seemed fitting that they’d take him to new places and further explore his time in the comics, where he ended up getting wrapped up in other characters’ plots in various team-ups. Plus, if you introduce Peter Parker into the MCU, it comes with the territory.
Yet, the answer is still not there for what to do next. A fourth entry is definite after the last film’s success and Sony’s ongoing deal with Marvel. They both want Tom Holland‘s take on the character to remain a sturdy figure in the franchise. With the ending of No Way Home leaving the young man on his own, it seems like perhaps the best strategy is to take a step back rather than continue to push forward. In a world without Avengers, there are no more ties to a bigger world but a whole new one to explore.
Swinging throughout the snow-covered New York City, Peter is on his own. Yet, it comes with a new freedom that no longer sees him as part of what he once was. It seems fitting that perhaps his time in college also comes with a more grounded time as the wall-crawler. He’s no longer in a place where he has to face world-ending threats but rather help the locals. Everyone still remembers the webhead and he is no longer in a place where the Avengers will just call for him. Now, he has time to figure out his place in a world that doesn’t remember him.
The sequel will likely be a story in a smaller scope even with the Symbiote on the horizon. Its tease actually sets up the perfect comic tribute with him potentially getting his hands on it during Avengers: Secret Wars as he did in the comic. We shouldn’t expect that storyline to instantly kick off, as Marvel Studios has a challenging balance to keep moving forward. We’ll see him in Avengers films but we’ll likely not see him in the same capacity as before.
He’s no longer an Avenger and none of the remaining members would even know that he is Peter Parker. So, he’s just a guy in a costume that helped out. So, moving forward we’ll still have these bigger-than-life stories with Spider-Man but his own franchise will take that step back to ground him even more. The balance that Marvel Studios and Sony will have to balance moving forward is the very notion of his two worlds. No matter how you look at it, it’s going to be a tough balancing act, and either they once again restart a trilogy that continues to escalate or try to create a distinct line between Peter Parker’s two alter-egos: Spider-Man and forgotten Avenger.
Sony probably was quite excited when they saw the hype surrounding the return of Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man: No Way Home. They were fan favorites for a reason and if they didn’t have to keep it a secret, the marketing executives probably would’ve been quite happy to get merchandise ready just in time to bank on that hype. Yet, the wait was a long one for anything related to the two characters.
Luckily, there’s a chance that Funko Pop collectors might be able to get their hands on Peter 2 and Peter 3, as @mariobros612TWT has shared that a new line of Funko’s from that film is going to get released. These will feature some exclusives but it does seem like all three Spider-Men are getting their own Funkos alongside Green Goblin with a pumpkin bomb.
It’s hilarious that Ned Leeds is also getting his own Funko just for the few seconds the Cloak of Levitation helped him out, but it feels perfect for those that want something a little unexpected in their collection. It’s great to see some additional Funkos in production and if they had these planned for the initial premiere, they’d likely have leaked early on confirming the many rumors already making the rounds.
Source: Twitter
It’s a crazy Labor Day weekend at the box office, as two long-running films have taken the top two spots. Strategically released, Sony gave Spider-Man: No Way Home a return to theaters hoping to crack the $2 billion mark with some more footage added in and the “More Fun Edition” tagged on. It went up against Memorial Day weekend surprise hit Top Gun Maverick which has been showing some incredibly impressive legs all summer.
As of now, it seems that No Way Home re-release will take the weekend with $6M but Top Gun: Maverick‘s $5.5M is nothing to laugh at, especially as it has now passed the $700M mark. It’ll likely pass Black Panther in just a day or two and it’s unclear just how big its wings might continue to propel it. With 50% fewer theatrical releases, it may have been the one surprise hit to boost the total market alongside other big releases like Thor: Love and Thunder, Minions: Rise of Gru, and the few to make a splash this summer.
Still, the weekend had a special offer for many as ticket costs were down quite a bit as a way for cinemas to test out the market. Quite a few films got a select boost as a result. Jurassic World: Dominion is inching its way to a potential billion, as it now stands at $994M. Mostly depends on how it performs overseas with Japan being the big decider here. Nope is still showing a stronghold and has pulled in $120M domestically, which is lower than expected but still a decent pull.
Thor: Love and Thunder also saw a minimal drop of 8% and pulled in another $2.4M and has now pulled in over $750M worldwide with $340M domestically. While some still pretend the film was a failure of some kind, it has outgrossed its predecessor and still is among the higher-tier earners. Making more than the previous entry with its fourth entry isn’t a common occurrence in a franchise that’s been running for as long as it has. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘s release is definitely going to be one to keep an eye on though.
Source: Forbes
SPOILER WARNING: This article will discuss spoilers from Spider-Man: No Way Home alongside the additional footage released in the extended cut.
With the official re-release of Spider-Man: No Way Home this Labor Day Weekend, Sony added extra incentive for audiences to get back into theaters by folding in previously unseen footage into an extended cut. Whether or not this was worth removing from the digital and Blu-ray release of the film remains to be seen, but nonetheless, there are some interesting new facets to discuss coming out of it. Before getting into the film itself, audiences are treated to an introduction via a video conference call from Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire. It’s a fairly straightforward exchange of pleasantries and gratitude about the experience of working on Spider-Man: No Way Home. Now a breakdown of the new footage.
FIRST ACT
The very beginning of the film remains the same as the original, with the first additions coming in the form of extended investigations done by Arian Moyaed’s Cleary with Peter Parker and company. The most noticeable difference is with Cleary having extended conversations with Peter about his previous ventures and his penchant for being in action near popular monuments. In addition, the infamous Night Monkey is addressed in the interrogation process.
The first outright new scene brought into this cut of No Way Home is the notably cut scene involving Harry Holland’s drug-dealing character being stopped by Spider-Man. The main focus then switches towards the civilians in the surrounding area accosting Peter Parker despite stopping a criminal which is built around a debate about the morality and culpability of Spider-Man being erroneously claimed to be a 14-year-old child. This scene closes out with the green paint being thrown on the suit of Spider-Man (as opposed to it just being part of a Daily Bugle montage).
The most distinct additions in this new cut are scenes at Midtown High School. Essentially every scene is expanded upon with new lines of dialogue from supporting and background characters expressing their excitement or disdain towards the webhead. One moment of note is Hannibal Buress’ Coach Wilson loudly goading Peter Parker to climb a wall during gym class with other classmates gawking onwards. This ultimately culminates in a new extended montage of interspersed sit-down interviews done by Betty Brant with supporting members of the Midtown ensemble. Of note here is the comically terrible green screen akin to the wonky production quality seen at the beginning of Spider-Man: Far From Home. The montage provides Buress, Martin Starr, and J.B. Smoove time to flex their comedic chops in the way of one-off cutaway lines. Additionally, audiences further dive into the vapid psyche of Flash Thompson in the midst of selling his new autobiography and receive some awkward closure between the Ned Leeds and Betty Brant relationship.
SECOND ACT
After leaving Midtown High, this version of No Way Home has no real changes to the structure of the film for a considerable amount of time. There are only two tangible additions of note. Firstly, there is a brief segment from J. Jonah Jameson on the Daily Bugle interviewing a construction worker on-site during the fight between Spider-Man, Sandman, and Electro. However, the construction worker comedically refers to it being a conflict between Spider-Man with a sparkle web fighting Dirt Man and a Power Monster (to the bemusement and confusion of Jameson). This scene is essentially an extension that leads into J. Jonah Jameson receiving the tip about the location of Peter Parker at the F.E.A.S.T. facility.
And then, this is followed up with the long-rumored second scene involving Charlie Cox’s Matthew Murdock. The lawyer is seen representing and defending Happy Hogan while under investigation from Cleary and his team at Damage Control. However, Hogan is distracted by watching the arrival of Peter Parker, May, and the villains into his condominium on the security camera via his phone (this scene is spliced with the original cut version of Peter and co. entering the condo). Murdock accosts Hogan for being distracted and closes by insisting on Jon Favreau’s character to stop sweating so much.
THIRD ACT
Following the new Matt Murdock scene, there are no new full scenes added to the film in the new cut. However, audiences will come to find a few new brief exchanges between the Spider-Man variants while on the Statue of Liberty scaffolding. These are all extensions of conversations already seen in the original No Way Home. Of note, Andrew Garfield’s variant continues his motif of being uber-excited about being able to interact with two versions of himself and is already planning a future meet-up between the trio. In addition, there are further points made about Tobey Maguire’s ability to create organic web-fluid and the unconscious process in which he generates it. Audiences will likely find a brief, yet tender exchange between Maguire and Garfield’s versions discussing the thought of being able to have second chances on past mistakes to resonate most strongly out of all of the additions. Once the villains then arrive for the final battle, the film remains the same course with no changes or additions abound.
POST CREDIT SCENE
Though there still remains one last surprise for audiences who stick around to the end of the film. A new post-credit scene is introduced that adds an interesting perspective to the resolution of Spider-Man: No Way Home. It takes the point of view of a final school news broadcast from Betty Brant celebrating the graduating class of Midtown High. In it, she discusses all the various events that they’ve gone through during their years, including The Blip (with Betty and Jason Ionello dusting and returning during news broadcasts). Though what’s most notable is the presence (or lack thereof) of Peter Parker. To slightly dispute the leak description from Reddit, Tom Holland’s character is technically present but is conventionally barely cut out of frame in every photo he is in (or has birds flying in front of his face). And of course, there is no mention or memory of him during the scene.
This helps bring new insight and understanding towards the nature of Doctor Strange’s spell and how the memory of Peter Parker was wiped from the minds of everyone in the world. And of course, provides a discreetly somber reminder of the lonely place Spider-Man is in at the end of the film.
THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS
Ultimately, the extended edition of Spider-Man: No Way Home was a fun experience, but certainly not game-changing in any way. As one can infer from the breakdown, a vast majority of the new scenes come from the first act of the film and at Midtown High School. While all the scenes brought new perspectives and enjoyable moments, director Jon Watts and his team made the right call in making the opening of the film as succinct as it was. Confirmation that Angourie Rice’s Betty Brant is an unsung hero in this first Spider-Man trilogy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is almost certainly the main takeaway. The only scene that could be considered worthwhile to have been included in the original cut was the Matt Murdock-Happy Hogan scene and the new lines from the Spider-Man variants solely from how little was changed via their additions. It will come down to the individual viewers to determine if the extended cut of Spider-Man: No Way Home was worth a full-on new theatrical release. However, if a fan is interested in being able to see the film again on the big screen as it was designed, it’s certainly an enjoyable experience either way.
