THEORY: A major character might die in Spider-Man: No Way Home

Spider-Man: No Way Home sets to deal with the fallout of Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) unmasking in Far From Home. However, it could result in the death of a major character. The ominous title was unveiled a few days ago. It hints that something sinister could happen in this third movie. Just like Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America’s third movies, this could result in three different ways. It could either be a death of a major character or a major character living long enough to see themself become a villain or the imminent doom of a major character’s whole world.

What does No Way Home refer to?

A new future for Spider-Man

We knew that Spidey will definitely deal with the multiverse in this movie. When we last left Spider-Man, Mysterio framed the young Avenger for murder and had his secret identity outed to the whole world. What better place to escape all that heat than a completely different universe? That sounds like a solid through like that both play off the events of the last film while also setting up a new future for Spider-Man.

Sony VS Disney

The title could also hint at something more ominous. Yes, the multiverse concept sounds fun. However, the title could also hint that Spider-Man may leave the Marvel Cinematic Universe forever. This will let him live in a different universe. Story-wise, that would be a dark turn. But, behind the scenes, it kind of makes sense due to the tricky relationship between Sony and Disney. This third Spider-Man movie could be a way to transition the hero out of the MCU as we know it. This could happen as opposed to just yanking him out like what almost happened a few years ago.

This may be the movie that would transfer Spider-Man over to the Sony-verse where they can keep making solo movies about him. For big multiverse types of Avengers movies, on the other hand, the MCU will be allowed to bring the character back and feature him in team-ups. Sure, it may not be an ideal solution at all. But, it’s one that could appease both Sony and Disney in the long run.

Explaining a theory on a major character that might die in Spider-Man 3

Spider-Man: Far Frome Home‘s mid-credits sequence sets up what will likely form the main thrust of the third movie. With his secret identity revealed to the world, consequences will surely have a huge effect on his personal life. As per Marvel’s comic book tradition, the revelation of his identity would likely lead to two things. This could be the death of a major character that challenges Peter’s idea of what kind of hero he has to be and why he tried to be one in the first place.

Peter has yet to be responsible for the death of a loved one – as experienced by other Avengers like Captain America with Bucky Barnes and Thor with Frigga. Out of Spider-Man’s ensemble cast, girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) would be the top likely candidates for the chop. May, on the other hand, could be somewhat more likely than MJ. This would be due to the emotional pathos of killing Peter’s guardian and emotional rock.

Ned’s “death”

Although MJ and May might be the most obvious choices, Peter’s best friend Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) could be a more interesting option. He knows Peter better more than anyone else in the MCU. Their bond has also been clear from the start. Ned’s “death” could also bring about his return as the villainous Hobgoblin, as many have speculated the MCU Ned will also take on this role. Aside from that, the fact that Batalon recently started working out and lost tons of pounds could also become a way to confirm this.

This kind of move wouldn’t be anything new. The former Spider-Mans, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, had already experienced this kind of thing. Both of them had incarnations of Spider-Man that experienced similar situations with different versions of Harry Osborne. This character used to be Peter’s best friend and would later become his enemy. This could also be who Ned functionally replaced in the MCU. So, like all great myths, the twist feels somewhat inevitable.

Mirroring other events in MCU

Spider-Man: No Way Home sets to mirror a lot of events in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tony Stark had a public-facing persona that allowed enemies to attack him closer to home. Ned’s death (and possible return as Hobgoblin) could also mirror Bucky’s transformation into the Winter Soldier. Although this is just speculation, it echoes the character arcs of two departed (for now) heroes – Iron Man and Captain America.