Warning: This article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Spider-Man: No Way Home star Tom Holland shared his reaction to the film's bittersweet ending. The film, which is the fourth entry in Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has been tearing up the box office and already crossed the $1 billion mark after just 12 days in theaters. Not only is it a crossover between Spider-Man and Doctor Strange - it features characters from Venom, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, and Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel, all of whom are dragged into the MCU by a spell that goes haywire, bringing in everyone who knows that Peter Parker is Spider-Man from across the multiverse.

No Way Home features what is probably the second grimmest ending for a Marvel film after Avengers: Infinity War. After teaming up with the other Peter Parkers and rehabilitating the villains who were dragged into his world, he realizes that Doctor Strange's power isn't enough to prevent the multiverse from collapsing in on itself. The only way to stop the imminent disaster is to complete the spell and make it so that everyone in the world forgets who he is, including his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya), and his late Aunt May's former flame Happy (Jon Favreau).

Related: No Way Home: Doc Ock's Story Makes His Final Spider-Man 2 Line Better

On their official website, Marvel shared an interview with Zendaya and Tom Holland about that brutal denouement. Holland recognizes that the ending is "brutal" and "bittersweet," acknowledging that he "wanted them to have a happy ending." However, he is grateful that "the people that he loves are safe, and they're alive." He does feel like "we may be teaching young kids a lesson they might not be ready for," but Peter's "starting a new chapter." Read the full quote below:

It’s brutal. It's tough. It's bittersweet… [Peter] starting a new chapter. And he's cleared his name. He's free of all that stuff. And the people that he loves— [He’s lost them, but] the people that he loves are safe, and they're alive.

It’s very sad, the ending. I wanted them to have a happy ending. We're still here, we're feeling good. We're proud of the movie. It would have been so nice for them to go to college, and just swing off into the sunset. Unfortunately, this is the way it is. We may be teaching young kids a lesson they might not be ready for. But, [at least the movie’s] entertaining.

Mj and Peter about to kiss in Spider-Man: No Way Home

Peter Parker's story is open-ended here, so it could go in a number of directions. He has lost his father figure Iron Man and his mother figure Aunt May, so he is forced to fend for himself, but the other people in his life are still there. They just don't remember him. He'll have the opportunity to either reintroduce himself into their lives or figure out some way to apply his incredible scientific knowledge to reverse the spell that has blocked their memories.

Although it was previously announced that Marvel and Sony are developing a new trilogy of Spider-Man films with Tom Holland, his involvement has not been officially confirmed. As it stands, Peter Parker could embrace his new anonymity and fade into the background and he fends his way through college. However, that certainly wouldn't be satisfying to fans and, considering the box office dividends that Spider-Man: No Way Home is raking in, it seems entirely unlikely that Marvel won't yoke Holland to another contract as soon as possible.

Next: Why Doctor Strange Didn't Use The Memory Spell On Thanos In Infinity War

Source: Marvel

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