Warning: This article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Spider-Man: No Way Home marks the conclusion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Spider-Man: Homecoming trilogy. With Sony, which owns the cinematic rights to the character, and Marvel Studios both on board for future films starring Tom Holland's Peter Parker, the future looks bright for Spider-Man's story in the MCU.
Given No Way Home's explosive and heartbreaking finale, the MCU has brought the curtain down on certain storylines from the Spider-Man: Homecoming trilogy while opening up new doors to opportunities for the future of the MCU's Spider-Man. The latest film hints at what future stories might entail.
Uncle Ben's Role In The Marvel Cinematic Universe
Aunt May's death is one of the most tearful scenes of Spider-Man: No Way Home, bearing a striking resemblance to the well-known death of Peter Parker's uncle Ben from the comics and other Spider-Man franchises. May's character now seems to have filled the shoes of Ben Parker, as her death seems to be the driving force behind Peter's transformation into a more mature hero.
Although Ben's famous line — "with great power there must also come great responsibility" — has now finally been uttered in the MCU, No Way Home has also given fans the closest thing to an Uncle Ben allusion so far, making many viewers wonder if the character could make an appearance in an upcoming film. Given that May has died, perhaps Ben may even be alive and well in the MCU, which would surely prove shocking to many fans.
MJ And Ned's Future In Peter Parker's Life
The finale of No Way Home saw Peter make the tragic choice to cause the rest of the world to forget about his existence, including his best friend Ned and girlfriend MJ. In their final goodbyes, Peter promised to find his two closest companions on the other side and attempt to rekindle their relationship.
Though Peter appears to change his mind after Doctor Strange's spell set in, believing that Ned and MJ are safer and happier without him, it is inevitable that their paths will somehow cross again in the future. Whether or not they will ever remember their fondest memories with Peter remains to be seen.
Peter Parker's Career With The Daily Bugle
Fans were ecstatic when Spider-Man: Far From Home's mid-credits scene brought back J.K. Simmons as the pernicious Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson, reprising his iconic role from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy trilogy. The character returned in a bigger role for the most recent installment of the MCU franchise.
With Jameson back in action, it's more likely than ever that he and Tom Holland's Peter Parker will cross paths, especially now that Peter is on his own in the city and in desperate need of a job. Peter's career as a freelancer for the Bugle is so key to the Spider-Man character in other iterations, it's hard to image that he and Jameson won't have contact in the MCU's future.
Peter Parker's Life As A College Student
After Doctor Strange's spell erases the world's memory of Peter Parker, it appears that all the hero's high-school records are erased as well, and Peter is shown having a GED workbook in his new apartment at the film's conclusion. As a result, Spider-Man's next film is likely to show Peter attending college.
Given that Ned and MJ are confirmed to be accepted into MIT for the next school year, Peter Parker may be heading to Massachusetts as well in his next movie. However, since Spider-Man is a character so synonymous with New York City, it's more likely that he'll attend a more local school, perhaps the fictional Empire State University, Peter's alma mater in the comics.
Peter Parker's Growing Maturity As Spider-Man
The Homecoming films focused on Peter Parker's younger days, keeping him in high school for the entirety of the trilogy. As a result, Holland's Parker has been depicted as less mature and occasionally more arrogant than previous renditions of the character.
The latest film, however, put Peter through the wringer, shaking up the character's status quo and forcing him to grow up in ways that are sure to change him forever. Tom Holland, who gave one of the best performances in Spider-Man: No Way Home, certainly has the acting chops to expand on a more mature version of the character, which fans are eager to see now that he has finally come of age.
The Reestablishment Of Spider-Man's Secret Identity
No Way Home ends with a universal rest for the Spider-Man supporting cast, as they lose all their memories of Peter Parker and his connection to Spider-Man. This reset sets up plenty of new storylines for the future of the MCU's Spider-Man, especially since his secret identity is now restored.
While it made a compelling story for the world to learn Spider-Man's identity, exploding his secret made it infinitely more difficult to plan future installments of the franchise. Now that the status quo has been reestablished, it will be interesting to see what new lengths Peter may go to in order to preserve his secret from ever being revealed again.
The Presence Of Norman Osborn's Oscorp In The MCU
One of the MCU's glaring exclusions from Spider-Man lore is Oscorp, the company founded and run by long-time Spider-Man archnemesis Norman Osborn, aka the Green Goblin. No Way Home revealed that Oscorp definitively does not exist in the MCU, but it made no such revelations about the Osborns themselves.
Now that Peter has faced off against a Norman Osborn variant, the stage is set for an MCU version of the character and his company, perhaps even setting up shop in the mysteriously managed former Avengers Tower. The comics version of Oscorp is responsible for the births of plenty of Spidey's supervillains, some of whom could even serve as the main antagonists in future movies.
The Appearance Of Spider-Man's Classic Costume
One of the major gripes with the MCU's version of Spider-Man has been his over-reliance on technology. This issue has manifested most often when it comes to his costumes, all of which are equipped with weapons capabilities, computer systems, and other technology courtesy of Stark Industries, tech that the character has often relied on and which isn't traditionally part of Spider-Man's arsenal.
The final scene of No Way Home gave a quick glimpse of Spider-Man's new costume, this time sewn by Peter Parker himself, without all the bells and whistles of his previous costumes. Much to fans' delight, the suit also seems to closely resemble the original Spider-Man costume from the comics. This suit will no doubt get plenty of time to shine in his Spidey's future MCU adventures.
The Future Of Spider-Man's Extensive Rogues' Gallery
In No Way Home, Peter fought some of the best villains from previous Spider-Man films, including the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Electro, Sandman and the Lizard. This version of the character has officially faced off against the greatest number of his classic Marvel Comics villains of any cinematic adaptation, but there are still plenty more that he has yet to meet on the big screen.
In the final battle of the film, Doctor Strange does his best to hold off the arrival of infinite variants of Spider-Man characters, giving fans a glimpse of potential future villains for the web-slinger to face. While none of these shadowy figures have been confirmed, some fans claim to have seen Kraven the Hunter and a comics-accurate Rhino among the crowd.
Venom's Presence In The MCU
When Tom Hardy's Venom made the leap to the MCU in the post-credits scene of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, it seemed to confirm the long-running theory that he and Spider-Man would eventually come to blows. No Way Home squashed this theory, however, revealing that Eddie was returned to his own universe along with the other Spider-Man villains from the multiverse.
However, not all hope was dashed for a Venom vs. Spider-Man movie, as one droplet of the Venom symbiote was left behind, implying that it will one day find its way to Peter Parker. It's only a matter of time before Holland's character has his first encounter with the alien symbiote, even if it turns out not to include Hardy's version of the character at all.