For months, Spider-Man: No Way Home has been the most talked-about Marvel movie. As we approach the No Way Home release, the Spider-Man excitement continues to grow, fueled by an increasing number of mind-blowing leaks. Somehow, Sony has lost control of the movie, with big spoilers popping up left and right. Whether they like it or not, most fans have been exposed to the big Holland-Maguire-Garfield leak, so that no longer counts as a spoiler. But we do have a different No Way Home spoiler for you that details all the heartbreaking deaths in the movie.
Having key characters die in a Spider-Man movie should surprise no one at this point. That’s especially true when Marvel is co-helming the project. But Sony’s standalone movies brought us plenty of death and suffering as well. It’s part of what makes Spider-Man such a great hero. Going into No Way Home and knowing it’ll pit three Spider-Men against five supervillains is another red flag. Big conflicts will have bitter consequences. Before we explain, I’ll remind you that massive spoilers will follow below. Stop reading right now if you want the events of the movie to be a surprise.
Death is a big part of Marvel and Spider-Man
You don’t have to be a die-hard Marvel or Spider-Man fan to know that death is very much a part of these stories. Marvel superheroes appear in movies that the entire family can enjoy. But the studio has made a point throughout the MCU that the stakes are real. People will be hurt, and some will die. And it’s not just the bad guys. It’s also the innocent bystanders as well as some heroes.
Even without Marvel influencing the new trilogy, any Spider-Man story will have plenty of heartbreak for Peter Parker. The deaths of those closest to him both enrage and drive him, shaping the course of his hero career. We’ve already seen some of that with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker in the MCU. Rather than an Uncle Ben, we’ve had Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) acting as a father figure to Peter. And Peter felt Stark’s death brutally in Far From Home.
With or without the big Maguire-Garfield spoiler, No Way Home was already going to deliver additional pain for Peter. The pain of dealing with a public that knows who he is and can endanger his loved ones.
You should know all of that even before you preorder that No Way Home ticket. Anyone close to Peter is at risk of dying — but I’m going to give you one last chance to avoid the big spoilers that follow.
No Way Home is “dark and sad”
As always with plot spoilers, there’s no way to verify them because they originate from unofficial sources who try to hide the leaker’s identity. So everything the person says might be made up based on all the existing No Way Home leaks out there. Or, they have indeed attended a No Way Home screening and know precisely what happens in the movie, deaths included. Unfortunately, there’s no way to confirm things one way or the other.
Before I tell you who lives and who dies, I’ll point your attention to this Tom Holland quote that dropped earlier this week. The actor spoke to Total Film, teasing that the movie isn’t what you expect:
What people will be really surprised about is that it’s not fun, this film. It’s dark and it’s sad, and it’s going to be really affecting. You’re going to see characters that you love go through things that you would never wish for them to go through. And I was just really excited to kind of lean into that side of Peter Parker.
Peter Parker is always someone who’s looking up. He’s always really positive. He’s always like, ‘I can fix this. I can do this.’ Whereas in this film, he feels like he’s met his match. He’s like, ‘I don’t know what to do.’ That was an aspect of the character that I’d never seen before, and I was really, really excited to try to tackle.
I haven’t seen the film yet but I’ve seen pieces of the film, and it’s the best work we’ve ever done. It’s the best Spider-Man film that we’ve ever made. I really don’t think fans are at all ready for what they’ve put together. I know that I’m not ready, and I know that it’s going to be brutal.
The heartbreaking deaths
Holland might not have told us who dies, but he made it clear in his comments that the film will be sadder and more brutal than previous installments. Leaks earlier this year said that the film will feature a heartbreaking death, with Sony and Marvel having shot multiple versions of the scene to prevent it from leaking.
The obvious candidates are Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), MJ (Zendaya), and Ned (Jacob Batalon). Many leaks say that it’s May who will die, and this will send Peter into a killing frenzy.
A person who reportedly saw the No Way Home screening hosted a lengthy ask-me-anything (AMA) session on 4chan, where he answered many questions, though many people think he or she is lying. It’s not just May who dies, according to the person.
The deaths of Spider-Man’s loved ones
The leaker said that the Green Goblin kills Aunt May with one of his pumpkin bombs. He targets her specifically, and it happens “pretty suddenly.” The same villain, who will lead the others against Spider-Man, also throws a bomb on a balcony where Ned is. The balcony falls with Ned on it, but we don’t get to see whether or not he survives.
But it gets worse.
Apparently, Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) also dies in the movie. It’s unclear how it happens. But there’s an explanation for all of this. The leaker says that it’s a fresh start for the MCU’s Spidey, a soft reboot. The people closest to him die, and Peter has to see it all happen. Not only that, but Doc Ock supposedly destroys Peter’s robotic suit that Stark made for him, incorporating the nanites into his tentacles.
But even without the deaths, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) completes the spell at the end of the movie. Everyone will forget that Peter is Spider-Man. They don’t even remember who Peter is. That is the case for MJ, who will survive No Way Home but supposedly has no memory of Peter.
If Ned’s death isn’t confirmed, we might see him as Hobgoblin in the future, the leaker speculated. Interestingly, the leaker provided a plot detail that we had heard in a different leak. It’s apparently Ned who finds Tobey and Andrew in this reality.
Also, the leaker said the Spider-Men photo that leaked earlier this week is accurate, and it’s taken from a scene in the movie.
The deaths of the villains
We won’t just witness the deaths of Peter’s family and friends in No Way Home. All of the villains will die throughout the film, according to the leaker. Sandman will supposedly sacrifice himself to save Tom’s Spider-Man.
Tom Holland’s Peter has his “John Walker” moment in the film, beating Goblin “within an inch of his life” before Electro saves him. Peter will apparently kill Goblin during the final battle, “but not with his own hands.”
All the villains will supposedly die by the end of the film, although it’s unclear who kills some of them. The leaker says that Tobey defeats Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), Andrew defeats Electro (Jamie Foxx), and Tom beats Goblin and Lizard. Apparently, Tobey destroys Doc’s tentacles, and Andrew knocks Electro into the ocean.
If this person’s account of No Way Home is accurate, Sony and Marvel will kill off all these villains for the last time, opening the door to a future where they can either recast them or introduce new villains.
As you might have noticed, there’s no talk about Venom (Tom Hardy). That’s because the leaker says the symbiote doesn’t appear until one of the film’s two credits scenes.
