We finally got our first look at Marvel’s Spider-Man: No Way Home and it looks incredible. The scale of the pic looks massive, the inclusion of Dr. Strange is money, and the overall premise feels like a clever way to introduce the multiverse.
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Speaking of which… Doc Ock. Green Goblin. Never in a million years did I believe I would get a chance to see Alfred Molina and Willem Dafoe reprise their iconic characters from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, but here we are 17 years later getting our first look at the villainous pair in all their early 2000s glory.
In fact, I’m more excited to see another film with them (and possibly, but also obviously, Tobey Maguire and/or Andrew Garfield) than I am to see a third feature with Tom Holland? Aall due respect to Mr. Holland and Marvel, but Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 rank amongst the best comic book flicks ever. People forget how monumental they were upon their release all those years ago — 2002 and 2004, respectively — mostly because Spider-Man 3 really was, unfortunately, that bad. (Seriously, Spidey 3 ranks right alongside Star Wars: Episode 1 — The Phantom Menace on my list of most disappointing films. The utterly shocked reaction from crowds on opening night still haunts me to this day).
Here’s why I’m excited: No Way Home will provide more than just closure for Sam Raimi’s trilogy of films but also redemption. If the rumors are true, those two Andrew Garfield flicks, which also concluded in unspectacular fashion, will also get a proper send-off.
Right now, our lasting image of Tobey Maguire’s Spidey is this:
And this:
Indeed, after everything we had seen over the course of 6.5 hours, 5 years, 4.5 villains, 4 Aunt May speeches, 3 unnecessary scenes with James Cromwell, 2.5 Kirsten Dunst songs, 2 Uncle Ben murderers, and 1 memory loss by way of water pipe, Spider-Man 3 ultimately ended on a bland note — not with our titular hero soaring through the city, but with Parker and MJ embracing in overtly dramatic fashion:
With No Way Home providing a way for Maguire and his rogues’ gallery to return once more, we may finally get the satisfying finale to Raimi’s films we deserved way back in 2007.
Also, if we get more Andrew Garfield and Jamie Foxx-as-Electro, that’s just icing on the proverbial cake.
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In other words, No Way Home has the potential to conclude a series of films that started in 2002, and, perhaps, rekindle public interest in Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 — which means Garfield’s lasting legacy as the wall-crawler won’t forever be tied to this:
Yeah, that’s asking a lot, but as Andy Dufresne once said, “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”
Who knew he was talking about Spider-Man?!
