Why You Shouldn't Trust Spider-Man No Way Home's Trailer

Considering Marvel's history of tricks, it's best not to take the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer at face value. The first look at Tom Holland's third solo film as the wall-crawler had long been overdue by Marvel-Sony standards when it debuted at CinemaCon, and subsequently to the rest of the world. So when it became available, audiences quickly jumped to watch it and then picked it apart for every detail that could potentially reveal more about Spider-Man: No Way Home's story.

Clocking in at three minutes, the trailer teaser appeared to be straightforward. It lays out the premise of the film, which picks up after the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home. Peter Parker's life is now turned upside down after Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) revealed his secret identity as the friendly neighborhood superhero and J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) revealed it to the world. To make matters worse, the villain also frames Spider-Man for his murder. This puts the Avenger's friends and families like Ned (Jacob Batalon), MJ (Zendaya), and Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) in jeopardy, as they, too, become the subject of public scrutiny. In an effort to rectify his predicament, Peter reaches out to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). But instead of resolving the mounting issues, the sorcerer's spell goes awry, making everything worse as it may have exposed Earth to the threats of the multiverse.

In all likelihood, however, the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer has several secrets in order to keep spoilers at bay, so it's best not to take it at face value. In recent years, Marvel has become much more clever and creative with regard to its trailers, and thus Sony for Spider-Man. Some shots used in promo clips don't even end up in the theatrical cut, while other frames are edited to remove a particular character or element, a trick used in Avengers: Infinity War trailers. The money shot of the trailer, for example, featured a fully-transformed Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) when the reality was that Bruce Banner couldn't coax the Hulk out after his defeat at the hands of Thanos (Josh Brolin). Deliberate editing also made it appear as though Loki would turn traitor again. Avengers: Endgame also used similar techniques, with its trailer using a fake shot of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) arriving in Wakanda from its predecessor to hide the debut of Fat Thor.

Doctor Strange blasting Spider-Man in Spider-Man No Way Home.

Both Marvel Studios and Sony know how much interest there is for Spider-Man: No Way Home. While it's not an ensemble film like Infinity War and Endgame, it's certainly getting the same level of hype evidenced by its record-breaking teaser, so expect that they're also utilizing those same misdirects and fake scenes in the marketing. Chances are that there are edited shots in the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer that hide certain plotlines. That includes potential characters being involved in certain scenes, particularly action set pieces–especially if former Spider-Man actors Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire are appearing in the film as leaks have suggested. There are already a number of subtle details in the teaser that can only be found by rewatching it multiple times. It's not outside the realm of possibility that there are a lot more than that.

Although marketing for Spider-Man: No Way Home started relatively late, there will at least be one more full trailer for the movie. By then, perhaps Marvel Studios and Sony will reveal more information regarding the ramifications of Doctor Strange casting No Way Home's dangerous spell to help Peter. Even then, it's still advisable not to trust what's included in the promo since it's only fair that the biggest surprises for the movie are being saved for when it makes its theatrical debut.

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