The record-breaking Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer gave fans the first clues about the film, though some of them were misleading. The trailer confirms several members of the main MCU Spider-Man cast will return for No Way Home, including the main superhero himself, of course. Tom Holland is back, reprising his MCU role as Peter Parker and Spider-Man.
The trailer also tells us that Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Wong (Benedict Wong) are in the movie. And it gives the multiverse an explicit mention. The footage even gives us our first look at the refreshed Doc Ock (Alfred Molina) villain and teases the Green Goblin. But Sony and Marvel might be hiding things in plain sight in the first trailer to prevent fans from figuring out the entire plot. We already saw teasers for five of the film’s six villains. And we suspect that the scenes showing Peter Parker or Spider-Man might not always show the same superhero variant. On top of all that, there might be another superhero in this movie. Mind you, some spoilers follow below.
A brief Spider-Man 3 history
We often refer to No Way Home as Spider-Man 3 because this is the third installment in Sony and Marvel’s MCU trilogy. But there’s no numbering scheme in the MCU Spider-Man trilogy. That’s because Sony already used numbers in the Sam Raimi trilogy starring Tobey Maguire. Maguire, of course, is one of the three Spider-Man superheroes we’ll see in the new film, and that’s the big No Way Home spoiler everyone knows. It’s also a secret Sony and Marvel might soon confirm.
The 2007 movie features many villains who Peter Parker has to deal with, including Flint Marko. Played by Thomas Haden Church, Marko becomes Sandman in the film. Of all the villains in Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, Sandman is the one the audience likes the most. That’s despite the fact that it was Marko who killed Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) in the first film.
By the end of Spider-Man 3, we get an emotional scene between Sandman and Peter Parker, where Spider-Man learns the truth. He forgives Marko, just as he frees himself from his guilt. Here’s that scene again:
The mysterious superhero in No Way Home
We have no idea if Haden Church will reprise his Sandman role for the new Spider-Man 3. But there’s no doubt about one thing: Sandman is in the first trailer.
Sony and Marvel might try to distract the audience from the villain teasers with the help of different superheroes. Doctor Strange keeps talking about the multiverse while we see all sorts of strange phenomena on the screen. But it’s Electro and Sandman who are wreaking havoc in those scenes, rather than the multiverse breaking our reality.
We already explained how Electro shoots yellow lightning in No Way Home to be more in line with the comics. And how Sandman’s silhouette is visible in one of the scenes. Here’s a screenshot from it again.
It turns out this is the scene that prompted some fans to wonder whether No Way Home will turn Sandman into a superhero. Pause the clip, and you’ll also see a Spider-Man variant in the foreground. Electro might be targeting him with the electricity, at which point Sandman intervenes, blocking the shot.
The precedent set in the Marvel comics
Sandman becomes a Spider-Man ally in the comics and even helps the Avengers. Seeing Marvel deliver this twist in No Way Home would be a great surprise for fans who have read the comics. Sandman could very well act like a superhero in some situations and then return to his more villainous activities later down the road.
IS SANDMAN BLOCKING THE LIGHTNING TO SAVE SPIDER-MAN??? pic.twitter.com/eIiqNHljzw
— advit (@addyvit) August 24, 2021
This particular development would also provide more continuity for the Raimi character. The Sinister Six have to come from the timelines where they faced the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men. Otherwise, there’s no character development for any of the villains. Therefore, the Sandman in the No Way Home trailer is closer to becoming a superhero than a villain.
If Sandman’s redemption journey started in Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, it must continue in the MCU’s Spider-Man 3. Stepping in front of the lightning that might kill Spider-Man might be the logical move for Sandman. Of course, we’ll have to wait until December 17th to see whether or not Sandman is about to become a superhero in No Way Home.
