No Way Home Easter Egg Spoils Tobey Maguire’s Return

While Tobey Maguire isn't in the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer, one Easter egg seems to spoil the actor's involvement in the movie. The trailer for No Way Home finally teased an overview of the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film. By revealing Spider-Man's (Tom Holland) identity in Spider-Man: Far From Home, Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) makes Peter Parker's life immensely harder. In the new movie, Parker seeks out Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to regain his anonymity. Strange's solution is casting a spell to make everyone forget that Parker is Spider-Man. However, things go awry. Parker can't stop making modifications to Strange's spell while the sorcerer is casting it, and the disruptions open up the Multiverse. Now, villains from previous Spider-Man films are free to attack the MCU.

Tobey Maguire starred as Peter Parker in director Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films in the 2000s. Though several actors have played Spidey since then, Maguire was the first to suit up for a big-budgeted Marvel film. The actor starred in three Spider-Man movies in all, with 2007's Spider-Man 3 marking his last appearance. Though it's been years since the actor played Spidey, many fans see Maguire's portrayal as the definitive Spider-Man performance. Because of his history with the character, Maguire's been long-rumored for a Spider-Man return at some point in the MCU.

Though Maguire doesn't appear in the first No Way Home teaser, one detail may give away his involvement. In No Way Home, Holland faces off against villains from previous Spider-Man films, and one of those is Alfred Molina's Doc Ock from Spider-Man 2. During Ock's appearance in the trailer, he emerges from a cloud of smoke and dust to say, "Hello, Peter." Holland takes a fighting stance in response and changes into his Spider-Man suit. But before the outfit change, he was wearing a jacket and tie that strongly resembled Maguire's outfit in Spider-Man 3. The Easter egg is making rounds online (via Instagram), and it seemingly hints at Maguire returning in No Way Home.

The Spider-Man trailer Easter egg is clearly intentional. Marvel knows fans comb over its trailers frame-by-frame, so putting that specific outfit on Holland is a clear homage to Maguire's character. Though Marvel hasn't confirmed that Maguire is in the film, set photos and rumors have fueled speculation about an appearance. Marvel pays close attention to fan chatter online, so the studio knows that fans are privy to any plans involving Maguire. The outfit is likely Marvel's way of winking at the audience, teasing Maguire will eventually appear.

There could be some trickery going on in the trailer. Since Doc Ock is from a different Spider-Man universe, he has no way of knowing that Holland's character is Peter Parker. Because of that, Molina could be talking to Maguire in the scene. Marvel is known for changing scenes in its trailers to hide plot points, so the editing trick wouldn't be anything new. Additionally, Marvel regularly uses face-changing technology in its movies. So Spider-Man may be wearing Maguire's outfit because it is actually Maguire in the scene. Because of Marvel's history of editing tricks, the studio may be using a deepfake of Holland's face to hide Maguire's return in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

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