58 Fun Facts About Spider-Man: No Way Home

Who directed Spider-Man: No Way Home?

Jon Watts closed out the trilogy he began with Homecoming and was lined up to direct Marvel's Fantastic Four next, but he stepped away from that film four months after No Way Home opened.

Which Marvel Cinematic Universe film reached cinemas just before No Way Home?

Eternals opened six weeks earlier; after a 2020 with no Marvel Studios film at all, four arrived in 2021 and No Way Home closed the run.

Which lawyer gets Peter Parker's charges dropped early in Spider-Man: No Way Home?

Matt Murdock is Charlie Cox's Daredevil, back three years after his Netflix series ended; the brief scene was the character's first appearance in a Marvel Studios film.

Which university rejects Peter, MJ and Ned, prompting Peter to ask Strange for help?

MIT rejects all three, so Peter goes to Strange; he is later pleading with an MIT administrator to think again when the first of the visiting villains attacks.

Why does Strange's spell go wrong?

The spell goes wrong because Peter keeps asking to change it mid-cast, adding exceptions for MJ, Ned, May and Happy; Strange contains the corrupted spell in a box.

Which villain is already caged in the Sanctum's cellar when Peter brings in his first captive?

The Lizard is Curt Connors, an Oscorp scientist who mutated himself while trying to regrow his missing arm in The Amazing Spider-Man; Strange already has him caged when Peter arrives.

What do the three main villains realise while comparing notes about fighting Spider-Man?

They were taken just before dying in battle with Spider-Man, so Peter refuses to send them home to their deaths and sets out to cure them first.

Where does Peter trap Doctor Strange when he steals the spell?

Peter traps Strange in the Mirror Dimension after snatching the boxed spell from him; Strange only gets out in time for the final battle.

Where does MJ work in No Way Home?

MJ works at a doughnut shop; the writers called Peter's closing visit there, when he orders a coffee and walks away, the last piece of his sacrifice.

Who fatally wounds Aunt May?

Norman Osborn fatally wounds May after his Goblin persona retakes control and talks the other villains into turning on Peter, who had been trying to cure them.

Whose role in other Spider-Man stories did the writers give May in No Way Home?

Uncle Ben usually teaches Peter the great-power lesson before he is killed; the writers realised May, this Peter's moral guide, was his Uncle Ben, so the words and the loss became hers.

What magic does Ned discover he can do in No Way Home?

Ned discovers he can open portals with Strange's sling ring, and while trying to reach his own Peter with MJ he instead brings two other Spider-Men walking through them.

What do the other Spider-Men call Tobey Maguire's version?

Peter-Two is what the others call Maguire's Spider-Man; Maguire asked the writers to reveal very little about what had happened to his Peter since Spider-Man 3.

What sets Maguire's Spider-Man apart from the other two?

He has organic webbing instead of web-shooters because Sam Raimi doubted audiences would believe a schoolboy could build such a device; the other two Peters make theirs.

In No Way Home, whose death still haunts Andrew Garfield's Peter?

Gwen Stacy's death haunts Garfield's Peter; catching MJ as she falls in the final battle redeems the fall he failed to stop in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Where do the three Peters lure the villains for No Way Home's final battle?

The Peters lure the villains to the Statue of Liberty, being refitted with Captain America's shield; Chinese censors reportedly asked Sony to cut the statue, Sony refused, and the film never opened in China.

Who stops the MCU Spider-Man from killing the Goblin?

Maguire's Peter steps in to block the killing blow, and the Goblin repays him by stabbing him in the back; he shrugs it off, saying he has been stabbed before.

What is the price of the final spell that saves the multiverse?

The spell's price is that everyone forgets Peter Parker exists; weeks later he visits MJ and Ned to reintroduce himself but decides not to, leaving them safe and unaware.

What does Eddie Brock leave behind when he is sent back to his universe?

Eddie Brock leaves behind a piece of the Venom symbiote on a bar in Mexico: Strange's spell pulls him home just as he resolves to go to New York and find Spider-Man.

Who reprises the Green Goblin from Sam Raimi's 2002 Spider-Man?

Willem Dafoe reprises the Green Goblin almost 20 years on; Osborn smashes the Goblin mask early in the film, so Dafoe plays the villain bare-faced in a hooded take on the suit.

Who plays Otto Octavius?

Alfred Molina returns as Otto Octavius from Spider-Man 2, digitally de-aged; his tentacles, part puppet in 2004, are entirely computer-generated this time.

How was Electro's look changed from The Amazing Spider-Man 2?

Electro's look changed from blue to a comics-style yellow, with Jamie Foxx himself saying he would not be blue this time; Foxx's return was revealed in October 2020.

Which actor returns as the Daily Bugle's Jameson, a role he first played in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films?

J. K. Simmons plays Jameson again, but as a different version: in the MCU he rants against Spider-Man on a web show rather than editing a newspaper.

Who voices Sandman, returning to the villain he played in Spider-Man 3?

Thomas Haden Church only lent his voice, so the brief shot of Sandman as a man again is recycled from Spider-Man 3.

What full name is revealed for Zendaya's MJ?

MJ gives her full name as Michelle Jones-Watson, nudging her closer to the comics' Mary Jane Watson without making her the same character.

Why did Marvel Studios briefly leave the Spider-Man films in August 2019?

Disney wanted a bigger profit share, reportedly an even split of costs and profits in place of Marvel's roughly 5% fee, and Sony refused; the deal struck weeks later settled on about a quarter.

Whose personal calls to Bob Iger and Tom Rothman helped bring Sony and Disney back to the table?

Tom Holland's calls to Disney's Bob Iger and Sony's Tom Rothman helped restart talks; Iger said the actor's plea made him realise the dispute was hurting people who mattered.

Which villain did the writers consider as the main antagonist before Sony reserved him for a solo film?

Kraven the Hunter was the writers' early pick for the main villain, but Sony was developing a solo Kraven film, so the story moved toward a wish-gone-wrong idea instead.

Which classic film's premise inspired the story of Peter making a wish about his public identity?

It's a Wonderful Life gave the writers the idea of Peter making a wish about his exposed identity; needing someone to grant it brought Doctor Strange, and then the multiverse, into the story.

Which Doctor Strange character was considered for the sorcerer's-apprentice role that went to Ned?

America Chavez was reportedly considered for the apprentice part, but pandemic delays moved No Way Home ahead of her debut film, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and the role went to Ned.

No Way Home's working title, Serenity Now, was a catchphrase borrowed from which sitcom?

Seinfeld supplied it: 'Serenity now' is a mantra its characters shout to stay calm, and Homecoming had already filmed under another of the show's phrases, Summer of George.

No Way Home took the December opening-weekend record from which film?

The Force Awakens had held the December record at $247.9 million since 2015; when No Way Home tickets went on sale, the rush crashed the AMC and Fandango websites.

Which fake titles did the three young leads post before the real reveal?

Phone Home, Home-Wrecker and Home Slice were decoys: in the next day's reveal video, Zendaya and Batalon joke that Holland was handed a fake because he had blurted out the last film's title.

How were returning actors smuggled onto the set to avoid leaks?

Brought in wearing cloaks, the returning villains stayed hidden even from the cast: Tom Holland told a cloaked stranger to watch out, then got a fright when the cloak came off the Green Goblin's actor.

Where was most of No Way Home shot?

Most of the film was shot at Trilith Studios in Atlanta from October 2020 under COVID protocols; New York got only second-unit work and a few days on location.

Which villain greets Peter on the bridge with the words "Hello, Peter"?

Doctor Octopus says it as he attacks, mistaking this Peter for his own; when he tears nanotech from the Iron Spider suit, it bonds with his arms and hands Peter control of them.

Which two legacy characters did Collider report were returning, though neither appears?

Dunst's Mary Jane and Stone's Gwen were tipped to return by Collider in December 2020; Stone denied it the next May and Dunst that November, and the older Peters only talk about them.

How does the Green Goblin release Strange's contained spell during the final battle?

He bombs the box holding it: one of the Goblin's pumpkin bombs wrecks Strange's relic, the barriers between universes start to break, and Strange is left straining to hold them shut.

Whose cameo as a thief was cut from No Way Home's theatrical release and restored in the extended cut?

Harry Holland, Tom's brother, was cast after teasing Tom about hanging upside down; Tom had him strung upside down for the whole scene, which was then cut until the 2022 extended version.

Who composed No Way Home's score, weaving in themes by Elfman, Zimmer, Horner and Young?

Michael Giacchino, who also scored Doctor Strange, could quote his own sorcerer's theme alongside music revived from the Raimi and Webb films for their returning characters.

No Way Home's first teaser broke the 24-hour trailer-views record set by which film?

Avengers: Endgame held the record at 289 million views; the teaser drew 355.5 million in a day, even though an apparent leak of it had spread online the day before.

Which film did No Way Home overtake as the highest-grossing Spider-Man movie?

Far From Home had been Sony's biggest film at about $1.13 billion; No Way Home reached about $1.92 billion without ever opening in China.

No Way Home's $260 million U.S. opening pushed which film out of second place?

Infinity War opened to $257.7 million; Sony's Sunday estimate of $253 million left No Way Home third, but the final count of $260 million moved it up to second.

Which film finally knocked No Way Home off the box-office top spot in its fifth weekend?

Scream, the 2022 revival of the horror franchise, took the top spot in No Way Home's fifth weekend; No Way Home then reclaimed it the following weekend.

Which country was No Way Home's largest market outside the U.S. and Canada?

The United Kingdom was the biggest market outside the U.S. and Canada, with more than $120 million; the film never opened in China, and Mexico was second.

What was the extended 2022 re-release subtitled?

The More Fun Stuff Version brought the film back to cinemas over Labor Day weekend 2022 with added and extended scenes, timed to 60 years of Spider-Man comics and 20 years of his films.

Why was No Way Home ruled ineligible for the 2022 BAFTAs?

Voters were never given it to stream: BAFTA requires every contender on its members' viewing platform, and Sony withheld the film, reportedly for fear of piracy.

What image did Sony post to announce the home-media release?

The three Spider-Men recreating the pointing meme restaged a 1967 cartoon frame in which Spider-Man confronts a crook disguised as him; Holland, Maguire and Garfield posed for it themselves.

What is the title of the 2026 Spider-Man follow-up to No Way Home?

Spider-Man: Brand New Day broke the run of 'Home' titles on purpose: its writers wanted to set it apart from the trilogy and borrowed the name of a 2008 comics storyline about a fresh start.

Which actor makes an uncredited cameo as Eddie Brock in the mid-credits scene?

Tom Hardy plays him as a baffled tourist: Brock sits in a bar while the bartender, Ted Lasso's Cristo Fernández, explains the Avengers to him.

No Way Home received a nomination at the 94th Academy Awards in which category?

Best Visual Effects was its only nomination, despite the studios' campaign for Best Picture; the award went to Dune.

In No Way Home, which character has become the new Sorcerer Supreme during Strange's Blip absence?

Wong took the title because Strange, who had been in line to inherit it, vanished in the Blip for five years; Strange insists Wong only got it on a technicality.

Which government agency arrests Peter, MJ, Ned and May after Mysterio's revelation?

Damage Control is the federal clean-up agency whose takeover of salvage work pushed Adrian Toomes into crime in Homecoming; here its agents interrogate Peter and everyone close to him.

Which company's technology does Peter use to build cures for the villains?

Stark Industries technology lets Peter build Octavius a replacement inhibitor chip first, and the cured Octavius later turns up to help the three Peters in the final battle.

Which comedian plays Midtown's gym teacher, Coach Wilson?

Hannibal Buress has played Coach Wilson since Homecoming, whose 2017 premiere he skipped by paying a lookalike to walk the red carpet in his place.

Jamie Foxx's Max Dillon gained his powers from genetically modified what?

Electric eels in an Oscorp tank mutate Max Dillon when the engineer falls in while at work in The Amazing Spider-Man 2; in No Way Home he trades origin stories with Sandman.

A cameo by all three live-action web-slingers was first considered, then cut, for which film?

Into the Spider-Verse's producers pitched a closing gag with Maguire, Garfield and Holland, but Sony's bosses judged it 'too soon'; No Way Home united the three in live action three years later.

Where does Peter take the villains to work on cures after stealing the spell from Strange?

Happy Hogan's apartment becomes his makeshift lab, but the plan collapses there when the Goblin persona resurfaces and turns the other villains on him.