While Spider-ManNo Way Home had plenty of villains for Peter Parker to face, there's likely a good reason why Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio did not make a return for the final film in the Homecoming trilogy. Mysterio would have fit well with the multiverse villains in the sense that he would have also been a nemesis who died fighting the Webslinger. However, the MCU's depiction of Quentin Beck in Spider-Man: Far From Home essentially ensured that he only really works as a one-time foe.

In Spider-Man: No Way HomePeter Parker accidentally breaks a spell cast by Doctor Strange that was going to make everyone forget he was Spider-Man after Mysterio exposed his identity to the world. This was just before the villain died, doctoring footage to make himself look like the hero and Parker the villain. Thanks to the tampered spell, Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Electro, Sandman, and the Lizard all arrive in the MCU from other universes thanks to connections to Spider-Man in their own realities. However, Mysterio did not make a return (despite original plans to the contrary).

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Newly released concept art for No Way Home reveals early plans showing Mysterio's return in the final battle against Doctor Strange, but it's ultimately good that Mysterio didn't make an appearance. While the idea of Mysterio fighting Doctor Strange is, of course, visually stunning, the logic behind his illusions would have made it complicated. Essentially, the source of all Mysterio's illusions came from his army of drones using the hologram tech he made working for Tony Stark. Seeing as federal agents confiscated all of the drones in London and seized all of the assets at Stark Industries, where else would Mysterio's tricks be coming from? Furthermore, Spider-Man learned the truth behind Beck's illusions in Far From Home, so there's no reason why Doctor Strange wouldn't be in the know as well. Basically, the MCU turned Mysterio into a one-trick pony. While that's fine for one film, it does create problems for future appearances (as exciting as it could have looked).

The best way that Mysterio could have come back for Spider-Man: No Way Home would have been as a variant from another universe who actually had powers to rival Strange's. This would have eliminated the need for drones to be retrieved or the seemingly necessary suspension of disbelief, seeing as how everyone fighting Beck (and viewers) would have already known his big secret. While this route does have more potential than bringing back the primary Mysterio, it seems as though Marvel Studios ultimately decided that Spider-Man fighting the legacy of Mysterio was enough.

Seeing as how Mysterio was the main antagonist in the previous film, it's ultimately good that new villains were featured and given more screen time. Furthermore, a return from Beck might have diminished the dark legacy he left in the wake of his death, convincing the masses that he sacrificed himself as a hero before being murdered by Spider-Man. Mysterio damaged Spider-Man's reputation, gifting him with a negative public perception that's been propagated by the Daily Bugle's J. Jonah Jameson, something that might not have been as impactful had he returned and joined a bunch of villains to fight Peter Parker once more in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

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