Marvel head Kevin Feige explains why Spider-Man: No Way Home is special to him, heralding back to the start of his movie career. The latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise is bridging the worlds of Sony's past webslinger movies as Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Jamie Foxx, Thomas Haden Church and Rhys Ifans are reprising their villainous roles from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy and Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man series. The villains return to the screen as Peter Parker asks Doctor Strange to perform a spell to restore his secret identity as the titular hero, only for the spell to go awry and breaking the multiverse open.

Alongside the returning villains, Spider-Man: No Way Home will once again be led by Tom Holland in the lead role alongside Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Benedict Wong as Wong, Zendaya as MJ, Jacob Batalon as Ned, Marisa Tomei as Aunt May and Jon Favreau as Happy. Development on the new film has been a bit of a rocky road when Sony and Marvel initially split over differences on renewing their contract, though would ultimately come back together with the help of Holland and fan backlash. This would also lead to Pascal's recent revelation that the two studios are looking to reunite for three more Spider-Man films with Holland still set in the MCU.

Related: Every Recurring Spider-Man Movie Main Character (And Their Best Cinematic Version)

During Screen Rant's exclusive interview with Feige for the film, the Marvel head explained why Spider-Man: No Way Home was special to him. Feige looked back to the start of his career with the comic book brand, recalling working with Amy Pascal on Sam Raimi's trilogy and how "surreal" it was to bring Dafoe and Molina back. See what Feige shared below:

"On a personal note, it's very surreal with Willem being back and Alfred Molina being back from two movies that were at the very beginning of my career, and the first time I met Amy and watched her run a studio and put those movies together was amazing learning for me and now to be doing it together is surreal and a dream."

Alfred Molina as Doc Ock under a bridge in Spider-Man No Way Home

Feige's time at Marvel began in the early aughts as he quickly broke out with an associate producorial role on Fox's first X-Men film before going on to work with Sony for Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, reuniting with Fox for the Ben Affleck-starring Daredevil movie and Universal Pictures for Hulk. The studio head has spoken about his experience working on the Tobey Maguire franchise in the past, which he described as primarily "watching and learning" from a creative team who sought to "exceed expectations," something he has since carried over into his creation of the MCU. It's nonetheless charming to see Feige look back fondly on his time working on the early films, especially with Pascal, who he would eventually work closer with to bring the webslinger to the MCU.

Audience anticipation for Spider-Man: No Way Home is at its highest point yet with the recent confirmation of Willem Dafoe's return as Green Goblin as well as Feige's tease that Charlie Cox's Daredevil will return to the MCU, seemingly confirming rumors that he will appear in the threequel. Attention is being further directed towards hopes that the various villains' returns will also see Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield return as their respective Spider-Men to help Holland's. The wait for Spider-Man: No Way Home is nearly over as the film is set to hit theaters on December 17.

More: Spider-Man Theory: The No Way Home Villains Are Multiverse Variants

Key Release Dates