Marvel Officially Admits How Dumb Doctor Strange Was In Spider-Man No Way Home

The newest Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse trailer references the MCU and calls out how dumb Doctor Strange was in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Curiously, both the most recent Spider-Man movie and the next Spider-Man film to hit theaters are centered on the multiverse. No Way Home saw Spider-Men from two different Earths joining the MCU, whereas Across the Spider-Verse see Miles encountering even more Spider-People than in the first movie.

Until now, it was assumed that Into the Spider-Verse’s multiverse and the MCU’s multiverse were different things. There was nothing to suggest the events of No Way Home would have an impact on Spider-Verse’s Miles’ story and vice versa, especially because the films are released under different studios. However, it seems that Marvel and Sony’s Spider-Man collaboration has brought the Spider-Verse and the MCU closer.

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse Shows How Dangerous Doctor Strange's Spell Was

Spider-Man 2099 calls out MCU Doctor Strange and Peter Parker

In perhaps the most shocking Across the Spider-Verse trailer moment, Spider-Man 2099 calls out “Doctor Strange and the little nerd from Earth 19999” when explaining why someone would not get to join the multiversal Spider-People club. It’s difficult not to think of the MCU’s Doctor Strange and Spider-Man, even though the MCU’s official designation within the Marvel Multiverse is still open for debate. Regardless, the MCU’s Doctor Strange and Spider-Man caused a lot of trouble to the multiverse due to the former’s spell to help the latter, which kicked off the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Doctor Strange’s memory spell was extremely dangerous, and Peter made it even worse.

It isn’t clear whether Doctor Strange’s spell is still having repercussions in the multiverse, but the fact is that Miguel O’Hara would not even consider welcoming the MCU’s Peter Parker into the Spider Society after the events of No Way Home. Into the Spider-Verse will most likely reveal how Spider-Man 2099 and other Spider-People came up with rules to protect themselves and the multiverse, something that both MCU’s Peter Parker and Spider-Verse’s Miles Morales seemed not to have followed. It is important to remember that Doctor Strange’s No Way Home spell also sent the MCU’s Vulture to the Venom universe, further proving how dangerous and confusing it was.

Doctor Strange's No Way Home Spell Was Dumb - But Good For The Spider-Verse

Spiderman No Way Home - Doctor Strange casting a spell

In terms of interconnectivity between Sony’s and Marvel Studios’ projects, there is no better way to connect Across the Spider-Verse to the MCU’s Spider-Man than to reference the chaos Peter and Strange caused in No Way Home. If both the MCU’s Spider-Man and Sony’s Spider-Verse films are dealing with the multiverse, then there is no reason why those multiverses cannot be the same. Granted, the overall Marvel canon gets way more complicated if the MCU’s multiverse is also the same animated multiverse Miles has encountered in Into the Spider-Verse and Across the Spider-Verse. However, this also makes a crossover between Spider-Verse’s Miles and the MCU way more likely.

Whether Tom Holland is in the Spider-Verse sequel remains to be seen. The biggest mystery, however, is what that crossover would look like. If Across the Spider-Verse is referencing the MCU, does that mean a live-action Peter Parker could exist in Spider-Verse’s multiverse? Regardless, Doctor Strange’s spell – and Spider-Man: No Way Home’s multiverse story in general – is great for the Spider-Verse franchise. Now, Marvel Studios’ live-action Spider-Man films and Sony’s animated Spider-Man films, both of which have been a hit, can interact, either in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse or in the future. This also means that a live-action Spider-Verse Miles Morales film could easily show up in the MCU.