Judging by the characters that have been announced so far it looks like we’re going to be taking a trip through the multiverse in the MCU Spider-Man 3.
By the looks of it, the MCU’s third Spider-Man movie is really shaping up to be something special. With the inclusion of a certain “Sorcerer Supreme” and characters we’ve seen in previous franchises, it’s becoming apparent that we may be getting our first taste of the Spider-verse on the big screen.
So far, several members have been confirmed for the webhead’s next adventure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. One of which being Jon Watts, the director of the two previous Spider-Man MCU movies; Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home, who’s now confirmed to be returning to complete the trilogy.
Previously, there were worries the MCU’s Spider-Man 3 was off the cards after negotiations between Marvel and Sony broke down leaving them without a deal, but thankfully, the two powerhouses eventually managed to renew their agreement, confirming the third the currently untitled threequel to be in the works.
Originally set to be the sixth movie on the Marvel Phase 4 slate, coronavirus-related production delays have reshuffled Marvel’s Phase 4 release dates and Spider-Man 3 has been pushed back from July 2021 to December the same year.
In the last Spider-Man movie, Spider-Man: Far From Home, we saw Peter Parker framed for murdering Mysterio (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) and also outed to the world as Spider-Man in a post-credit scene where J.K. Simmons reprised his role from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy as J. Jonah Jameson.
This of course means that the next Spider-Man movie will begin with Parker totally backed into a corner. Early speculation led fans to believe Parker being wrongly accused may serve as a way to bring a certain blind lawyer into the mix (Daredevil a.k.a. Matt Murdock) and there still is a possibility.
But as of right now it’s unknown how the events following this cliffhanger will unfold but judging by the characters that have been announced so far there’s a strong possibility it will include a trip into the multiverse.
Here’s every Marvel character that has been confirmed for Spider-Man 3 so far…
Spider-Man
Starting with the obvious, Tom Holland will be suiting up once again as everyone’s favourite wallcrawling, web-slinger. This is his sixth big-screen appearance in the MCU, meaning he’s had the most big-screen appearances as Spider-Man.
As mentioned before, not much is currently known about Spider-Man 3. Both Marvel and Tom Holland remained pretty vague with the exact details but Holland promised “an absolutely insane sequel”.
So far the only thing we know for sure is that the sequel has to in some way, shape or form, address the cliff-hanger from the previous movie. Even if it doesn’t carry on straight after the events in the post-credit scene, it’s too big a cliff-hanger to just sweep under the rug
This will be the first time in any movie where Spider-Man’s secret identity has been compromised. This has been done in the comics before (namely, during the “Civil War” event storyline where Parker revealed his secret identity to the world in solidarity with the superhuman registration act).
But of course, comics being comics, this was eventually reversed and just like most superheroes for the most part Spider-Man’s identity is kept a secret to most. It will definitely be interesting to see how this plays out on screen.
Amazing Spider-Man 2’s Electro
In 2014’s not so warmly received The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Jamie Foxx played Max Dillon, a character who goes on to become one of Spider-Man’s most notorious comic book foes, Electro. In a freak accident, Electro gains the ability to manipulate and emit electrical energy from his body.
It’s unclear how this version of the character is being brought back. Whether it’s that Jamie Foxx’s version of Electro exists in the MCU or the inclusion of a certain “Sorcerer Supreme” means a foray into the multiverse leading the MCU’s Spider-Man to cross paths with Electro from The Amazing Spider-Man universe (which sounds like the more likely option).
MJ
Tom Holland previously confirmed that Zendaya will be reprising her role as MJ in Spider-Man 3. MJ is the MCU’s version of long-time primary love interest Mary Jane Watson. In Spider-Man: Far from Home, MJ revealed she had figured out Spider-Man’s secret identity and she was also in the post-credit scene when his secret identity was revealed to the world live on TV by J. Jonah Jameson.
Ned Leeds
Jacob Batalon will be reprising his role from Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: Far from Home, where he played Ned Leeds, a character who is very loosely based on the comic book character of the same name.
In the MCU, Ned is Parker’s best friend and “guy in the chair” who helps him by using his hacking skills and gifted intellect to provide information and support for Parker during missions. It may also be worth noting that in the comics Ned, goes on to become the supervillain known as Hobgoblin. Judging by the version of the character that exists in the MCU it’s unlikely this will be explored but there’s still a possibility.
When Foxx was cast in Spider-Man 3, Batalon’s commented on his inclusion during an interview with comicbook.com saying that “I’m a huge fan of Jamie Foxx. Like, literally, I grew up watching his things so being able to work with all these influential people in these movies has been like a godsend”, revealing that he would reprise his role as Ned in the movie.
Aunt May
Marissa Tomei has also confirmed her return as Aunt May when asked about Aunt May’s story arc in Spider-Man 3 during an interview for her new film The King of Staten Island, she said “Well, I’ve had her – [director] Jon Watts and I always talked about her being a community organizer,” she said. “And hopefully that track will expand and be part of this one, as well.”
Which doesn’t really give us anything at all to go on, but it does confirm that her character will be returning. Not that this wasn’t already a certainty given how integral her character is to the Spider-Man franchise.
It’s definitely going to be interesting to see how Parker’s situation will affect her. It’s very likely his enemies will user her to get to him. Not only this, but it’s also going to put a strain on their relationship given the fact he’s now considered a “dangerous fugitive” and he’s on the run.
Flash Thompson
Another character amongst those confirmed Spider-Man 3 is Tony Revolori’s, Flash Thompson. Just like the previous renditions of Flash, in the MCU he’s somewhat of a bully to Parker. The only difference here is that his methods are a lot less physical than the usual version of the character.
Another difference with the character is that he’s also, quite ironically, a big fan of Spider-Man. Which could make for an interesting character arc given the revelation that the student he gives a hard time at school and the superhero he looks up to are the same person. This will no doubt be a source of confusion to Flash and may even lead him to change his way of thinking.
Doctor Strange
One of the most exciting additions to the cast of Spider-Man 3 so far has to be Benedict Cumberbatch’s, Doctor Strange. He’s said to be a mentor to be Peter, serving a similar role to that of Iron Man (played by Robert Downey Jr.) in previous movies. Tony Stark sacrificed his life to save the MCU in the final battle of Avengers: Endgame. In Spider-Man: Far From Home Peter was left to pick up the pieces after Stark’s demise.
So far, both of Spider-Man’s MCU movies have featured one of the main MCU heroes that are not part of the Spider-Man franchise. In Homecoming this was Tony Stark and in Far from home it was Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson)… well sort of anyway. It actually turned out to be a Skrull posing as Fury on his behalf.
With the Sony-Marvel deal in place, it makes sense they take advantage of being able to use major Marvel characters in Spider-Man movies. But the exciting thing about the fact that Doctor Strange is in Spider-Man 3 (combined by the fact Amazing Spider-Man 2’s Electro is also in the movie) is that this points to a trip into the multiverse. Which may also mean the return of other Spider-Man characters from previous franchises. So who knows what other characters could be revealed next…
