Marvel and Sony still aren’t ready to release a Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer. That’s not necessarily because they’re worried about spoiling the film’s big secret. We’ve heard for months that No Way Home will be a multiverse story where multiple Spider-Man variants will fight villains from previous movies — even the non-MCU ones. If anything, these big multiverse spoilers will make fans want to watch No Way Home in theaters even more. Herein lies the problem with the trailer delay.
Marvel and Sony might be contemplating a release delay for the film, in which case there’s no need for a trailer yet. While we wait for more clarity on the No Way Home release, more multiversal talk from Marvel executives seems to cement the idea that the new Spider-Man movie will be the first live-action Spider-Verse story. Mind you, some spoilers will follow below.
Marvel’s hidden multiverse
When Marvel announced the MCU Phase 4 in late July 2019, Spider-Man 3 wasn’t even one of the titles Kevin Feige mentioned on stage. We later learned that Sony and
Also important to remember is that, back then, we had no idea how big of a role the multiverse would play in Phase 4. The only title we knew for sure was a multiverse story was the one with the word “multiverse” in it — Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
The coronavirus pandemic delayed the entire Phase 4 and forced Marvel to reshuffle its release plans, No Way Home included. That’s how we learned that more movies and TV shows would explore the multiverse. It wasn’t just the Doctor Strange sequel.
The multiverse titles that we know of
We believed that WandaVision would open up the multiverse, but that didn’t really pan out. It was Loki all along that “freed” the Sacred Timeline into chaos, unleashing Marvel’s multiverse.
Just as the first MCU shows premiered on
Then there’s, of course, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, where Kang (Jonathan Majors) will appear.
Finally, after the Loki finale, Marvel confirmed that the What If…? anthology series will tell multiverse stories.
Loki writer Michael Waldron recently confirmed that he collaborated with the No Way Home team to ensure everything falls into place. Waldron worked on two Marvel multiverse stories, including Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The only reason to talk to No Way Home writers would be to ensure that the multiverse works. That’s just speculation based on what the writer said in an interview. But a different Marvel exec provides similar evidence.
How does No Way Home fit in?
What If…?
executive producer Brad Winderbaum answered multiverse questions in an interview with ComicBook. Winderbaum said that when he planned What If…?, he met with Marvel’s Loki and WandaVision teams.
“We met with the Loki team and Stephen Broussard and Kevin Wright and I would have many conversations about the Multiverse and how it functions and branch timelines, Nexus events,” Winderbaum said. “Same with Mary Livanos on WandaVision. And I think we not just establish how these things would be connected, but also the rule book for all the stories that we tell in the multiverse moving forward. I mean, it’s thrilling, we’re in the middle of it. I’ll tell you that. We are in the middle of it now.”
The exec might not have named No Way Home explicitly here. But Winderbaum offers the same general image as Waldron. Execs involved in various Marvel multiverse projects have interfaced during production to ensure the stories are cohesive.
The What If…? team met with Loki and WandaVision. Separately, the Loki and Multiverse of Madness writer met with the No Way Home team. Something big is afoot here. Especially considering that we’re “in the middle of it now.”
Separately, Winderbaum teased that anything that happens in What If…? can be used in the MCU. He was referring to the characters and events that could make the jump to live-action movies. “Yeah. I think there’s always a chance. And it’s animated, sure, but it’s part of the MCU. And as you well know, once you’re in the sandbox, anyone can play with that toy.”
Spider-Man 3 has a December 17th release date, assuming Sony and Marvel won’t delay it. A new What If…? episode premieres every Wednesday on
