The latest trailer brought new waves of excitement among MCU fans and long-time lovers of Spiderman.

By: Yasmine Abdeldayem

On November 16, Sony released the final trailer to the highly anticipated film, “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”

The first teaser, released in August, currently has over 78 million views on YouTube. In just days after the second trailer’s release, views have surpassed 46 million. 

The hype resembles the mania that swarmed fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe prior to its last installation of the “Avengers” series: “Avengers Endgame.” As one of the final movies in Marvel Phase 3, “Avengers Endgame” was a three-hour-long goodbye—riddled with memorable lines like “And I…am Iron Man” and intense action sequences—to several fan-favorite heroes like Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Natasha Romanoff (who appeared one last time in the 2021 prequel, “Black Widow”).

  It was hailed as the end of a beloved era, but one that was just as sweet as it was bitter, for it opened doors to unexplored corners of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). The August teaser for “No Way Home” broke the record that “Avengers Endgame” previously set for the most-watched trailer in the world. 

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” arrives in the wake of groundbreaking MCU Phase 4 installations like “WandaVision,” “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” and “Eternals.” 

At first glance, it’s another addition to a universe so intricately intertwined with continuations, references and crossovers that only appeal to committed Marvel fans. But the finale to the “Spider-Man” trilogy is likely to shift the rhythm of the MCU in its own way: through a more generationally diverse viewership.  

Since Andrew Garfield’s first appearance as Peter Parker in the 2012 film, “The Amazing Spider-Man,” there has been a constant cycle of debate around one question: who’s the best Spider-man? The frequency of this age-old debate was only amplified by Tom Holland’s first appearance as the web-slinging hero in “Captain America: Civil War.” 

While the answers vary, veteran Spiderman fans are often loyal to Tobey Maguire, who depicted the hero in film for the first time in Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” in 2002. 

Holland has been the onscreen face of Spiderman since 2016, though his first titular movie, “Spider-Man: Homecoming,”  wasn’t released until 2017. 

While his portrayal of the character has been widely praised, frequent bouts of skepticism and disapproval inevitably arose. These criticisms were often spoken by long-time Spiderman fans, who couldn’t get behind the idea of Spider-Man, self-made neighborhood hero, becoming, in many ways, Tony Stark’s protegee and even an Avenger himself.

As it was the third film portrayal of Spider-Man in the last two decades, it was expected that Marvel would take a different turn with Holland’s version. But as fan debates continued, nostalgia for classic villains remained…until the release of the trailer of “No Way Home” created a blur among the divisions between Spiderman fans, new and old. 

The recent trailer expanded on August reveals that sent fans into a frenzy: most notably, the return of iconic Spider-Man villains like Doctor Otto Octavius, known as Doc Ock, and Green Goblin. 

Willem Dafoe and Alfred Molina from Raimi’s “Spider-Man” and “Spider-Man 2,” respectively, will be reprising their roles. 

Sandman from “Spider-Man 3” is also seen in the trailer’s peek at a major fight scene between Holland and several notorious villains. 

The villains that Garfield battled against in “The Amazing Spider-Man” and its sequel are also entering the mix. Curtis Conners, AKA the Lizard, is seen in all his menacing, reptilian glory and Jamie Foxx is back as Electro, lighting up the night sky with his vibrant bolts of electricity. 

After a tear in the multiverse, thanks to Doctor Strange’s spell-gone-wrong, Peter Parker has problems that far exceed the public reveal of his identity at the end of “Spider-Man: Far From Home.”

The multiverse was a concept explored in the animated film, “Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse,” which follows Miles Morales’ rise to the title of Spiderman in the wake of Peter Parker’s death. Miles encountered versions of the web-slinger from alternate universes; there’s a possibility of something similar happening in “No Way Home.”

For months, there’s been speculation that Garfield and Maguire will be appearing alongside Holland, thanks to the opening that the multiverse has created. Nothing has been confirmed and Garfield, in recent interviews, has even denied any involvement. But fans remain hopeful that old villains will lead to old heroes, as well. 

Regardless of whether the former Spider-Man actors appear, “No Way Home” is bound to bring together generations of Marvel and Spider-Man fans in a manner that no MCU film has before. Viewers with no connection to the superhero universe that was established with “Iron Man” may now show up at theaters, in hopes of experiencing Spider-Man and his villains they knew in the early 2000s to 2010s. 

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” premieres on December 17 and tickets are available to order starting November 29.