Spider-Man: No Way Home - Every Marvel Villain Teased By The Trailer

The first Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer teases multiple Marvel villains that Tom Holland's Spider-Man will fight. The upcoming Phase 4 movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been highly anticipated from the moment Spider-Man: Far From Home ended. Mysterio revealing Spider-Man's secret identity as Peter Parker to the world came as a huge shock, and the cliffhanger ending meant Spider-Man: No Way Home would have to deal with the fallout. While that is happening, how it does so and what comes next is where the movie went in unexpected directions.

It became clear early on in Spider-Man: No Way Home's development that the movie would be connected to the multiverse in some fashion. Benedict Cumberbatch was announced to return as Doctor Strange, and this led to an avalanche of rumors about other Marvel characters who might appear. These reports include the possible returns of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as their respective versions of Spider-Man, with Daredevil star Charlie Cox also linked to the film. But, the majority of the rumored returnees are said to be Spider-Man: No Way Home's villains.

Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures had great success bringing lesser-known villains in Vulture and Mysterio to the screen for the first two Holland solo films. However, Spider-Man: No Way Home's trailer confirms that Holland's Spider-Man's next test will include fighting villains from previous Spider-Man franchises. Here is every returning villain teased by Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer.

Doc Ock

The Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer ended with the confirmation of Alfred Molina's return as Otto Octavius aka Doc Ock, as well as the first look at him in the movie. Molina famously played Doc Ock in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2, where he delivered a performance that is still highly regarded among the best ever for a comic book movie villain. His story saw him eventually fight Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker before redeeming himself by collapsing his own invention. Despite his apparent death, Doc Ock's Spider-Man: No Way Home return is now confirmed, and he's looking exactly the same age as he was in the 2004 film. Marvel's decision to prominently feature Doc Ock in this moment strongly suggests that he is the main villain of the film, or at least the one with the biggest role.

Molina's return was heavily rumored during production on Spider-Man: No Way Home, but the actor previously confirmed that he would be back as Spider-Man 2's Doc Ock. The trailer only provides a brief look at Molina's MCU debut though. The trailer is cut to make it appear as though Doc Ock is confronting Holland's Spider-Man on a highway bridge that is under attack. His only line in the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer is "Hello Peter," which he seems to be saying to Holland. Unless this is clever editing to avoid showing Maguire's Spider-Man, this indicates Doc Ock recognizes the MCU's version of Peter Parker, despite how different Holland and Maguire look.

Green Goblin

Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin is also confirmed to return after Spider-Man: No Way Home's trailer. Dafoe's portrayal of Norman Osborn was a huge part of the success of Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy. Although Green Goblin clearly died by the end of the 2002 movie, Raimi found creative ways to bring Dafoe back for each of the sequels that round out Maguire's trilogy. In both cases, the ghost or memory of Norman is used to haunt Harry Osborn and lead him down the path to seek revenge on Spider-Man. Dafoe refrained from confirming his return before, but that didn't stop rumors from circulating that he was in it. Furthermore, reports state that Green Goblin has a sizeable role in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

There is no actual footage in Spider-Man: No Way Home's trailer where Dafoe is visibly on screen, but there are several Norman Osborn teases. For starters, Dafoe's chilling Green Goblin laugh is played over the trailer to provide fans with a tease of what is to come. This is followed up by a glimpse of his recognizable weapons. One of Green Goblin's famous Pumpkin Bombs bounces and rolls down the highway where Holland's Spider-Man is alter seen in the trailer. The fight between Norman and Peter might not be shown, but it is clearly going to come.

Electro

The Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer also heavily teases the return of Jamie Foxx's Electro. Foxx originally played the Marvel villain in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, where his look was changed to be almost entirely blue. Despite the largely negative response to the movie, Kevin Feige was known to be a fan of Foxx's portrayal of Electro. When it was first reported that he'd return in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Foxx confirmed the news on social media before deleted his multiverse-themed posts. But, he did suggest that Electro won't be blue this time around.

The teases of Electro in Spider-Man: No Way Home already support that claim. Foxx isn't shown in the trailer's footage, but there is an abundance of yellow lightning. The powerful lightning bolts are shown striking police and news cars in the street at one point, while another shot features Holland in the black and gold Spider-Man suit trying to avoid them. This is an early sign of Electro's redesign for No Way Home, and his power levels.

Sandman

There is also a tease for Sandman's return in Spider-Man: No Way Home's trailer. Thomas Hayden Church previously played the Marvel villain in Raimi's Spider-Man 3. The criminal was tied to the death of Uncle Ben in this story, but he actually survived the movie and was forgiven by Peter Parker. Although his return has been heavily rumored, Church has not commented on the possibility. The tease for Sandman appears to come during one of Electro's lightning storms, as the ground/sand surrounding Spider-Man pops up all around him. This could be a sign that Electro and Sandman are working together to fight Holland's Spidey. However, there are also theories that Sandman is using his powers to try and protect Peter from Electro's attacks.

The Lizard

The Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer also includes a quick tease of The Lizard's return. The moment comes around the 2:26 mark of the footage, as a big figure approaches Peter. Although the scene is darkly lit, the general shape of the figure and it working in the shadows lines up with Lizard. Rhys Ifans played Curt Connors in The Amazing Spider-Man, which showed the brilliant scientist transform into Lizard due to his experiments involving regrowing genetic tissue. Lizard's story ended with his arrest, but the multiverse will allow Ifans to return in the MCU. Ifans hasn't addressed his rumored return to the Marvel universe, but the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer points towards it happening.

Nightmare or Mephisto?

Nightmare in Doctor Strange Marvel comics

It is also possible that the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer is teasing a role for either Nightmare or Mephisto. Doctor Strange's role opens the door for these magical and other dimensional villains to potentially appear. Strange and other magic users draw their power from other dimensions, such as Nightmare's Nightmare Realm inside the Dream Dimension. So, Strange casting a powerful spell that is based around wish-fulfillment lines up how Nightmare can operate. Spider-Man: No Way Home's story also resembles the "Spider-Man: One More Day" storyline from the comics, which saw Mephisto bring Aunt May back to life at the cost of his marriage with Mary Jane. With a sign that even labels Peter as a "Devil in Disguise," perhaps it is Mephisto who is really behind this story. In any case, a magical villain like Nightmare or Mephisto being involved in Spider-Man: No Way Home at least seems possible now.

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