WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home
Spider-Man: No Way Home concept art sees Doctor Strange smash Peter Parker/Spider-Man, holding some sort of book, through a window. Since its release on December 17, 2021, Jon Watts' No Way Home has managed to make up 12% of 2021's U.S. box office, breaking records worldwide. Much of the film's success is due to its multiversal concept and nostalgia due to bringing back Spider-Man characters from Sony's past.
After Quentin Beck/Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) framed Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and revealed his identity in Far From Home's credits scene, No Way Home sees Peter go to the New York Sanctum to ask Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help. Strange attempts a spell aimed at making the world forget Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Unfortunately, Peter changes the spell numerous times to let his loved ones remember who he truly is. When the spell inevitably goes awry, a handful of familiar faces are brought into MCU, including Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Electro (Jamie Foxx), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), and Lizard (Rhys Ifans). After capturing said villains, Peter finds out Strange intends to reverse the spell, which he contains in a cube, and send the villains back to their respective universes, where they will die fighting Spider-Man. To prevent their deaths, Peter steals the spell and fights Strange before trapping the latter in the Mirror Dimension.
Artist Maciej Kuciara recently took to social media to share some concept art for No Way Home. The pieces depict Spider-Man and Strange's battle, with the sorcerer smashing Spider-Man through a window. Looking closely, it's clear that Spider-Man is holding a book instead of a cube. Check out the two pieces of art below:
Before all the multiverse talk, Far From Home set up a very different sequel than what No Way Home ended up becoming. Many assumed the movie would feature Kraven the Hunter, an antagonist fans want to see on the big screen. Eventually, Marvel Studios and Sony had the idea to bring in Doctor Strange and explore the idea of a wish gone wrong, which leads to villains from Spidey's past. However, while the writers always wanted to also include Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man (s), the actors didn't sign onto the project until the middle of filming. With so many things in flux, it doesn't come as a surprise to see Spider-Man holding a book (rather than a cube) in concept art. Given Marvel's penchant for secrecy, it's also entirely possible Kuciara was told "book" instead of "cube" to keep plot details under wraps.
From Spider-Man's fight with Strange and curing iconic villains to discussing great power and responsibility with old friends, Spider-Man: No Way Home managed to successfully explore its multiversal concept while priming viewers for what comes next. The film's credits end with the tagline "Doctor Strange will return." As far as books go, the sorcerer's next adventure, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, will see him seek out Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), who has been experimenting with the Book of the Damned, as seen in WandaVision.
Source: Maciej Kuciara/Twitter