'Spider-Man: No Way Home' spoilers: Here's what to know

Dec. 13, 2021 10:30 PM PT

Warning: The following article contains modest spoilers for “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” We’re preserving the biggest secrets and plot details until the film is open, but for those looking for an informed tease of what to expect, read on.

The long-awaited “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is finally here! And while it promises to bring to a close the current “trilogy” of Tom Holland-fronted Spidey movies, it’s also no secret that the movie delivers some kind of connection to the previous Sony-produced Spider-Man titles that starred Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield.

Do those actors show up in “No Way Home”? How many of their fiercest foes do? And what might they be doing in the MCU?

If you’ve waited this long to find out, you probably don’t actually want to know before you see it. So here’s a rundown of what you need to know and still enjoy the movie’s many surprises .

We’ve got six lightly spoilery tidbits to prep you for the movie that busts the MCU multiverse wide open.

The least spoilery thing we can say is, “You’ve heard rumors, part of the fun is seeing which ones are true”

Just because MCU projects try to keep a tight lid on spoilers, doesn’t mean they don’t find their way to the internet. And while we don’t like to make assumptions about our dear readers, if you’re checking out this story before “No Way Home’s” official release, we’re betting you like to dabble in Marvel fan theories and peep into the rumor mill now and then (we’re looking at you, Peter Parker truthers and Sinister Six conspiracy theorists).

So we’re just going to say this: That thing you read about happening in “No Way Home” totally happens. But that other thing doesn’t.

Knowing the rumored spoilers probably won’t ruin the movie for you. But it might ruin it for other fans, so be respectful and keep them a secret for now.

You really should be aware of all of Sony’s Spider-Verse

As they’re using the villains from the Sony movies in the ads, it’s no spoiler to say boning up on those five films will deepen your understanding of “No Way Home.” But it goes a bit further than just remembering their stories, in terms of callbacks and the emotional experience of the new film. Safe to say, the Sony films are now — if not directly canon — at least side-by-side with the MCU.

Some of the Disney+ world-building matters, including “What If”

Of the five MCU shows to premiere on Disney+ post-”Endgame,” “WandaVision” is most crucial to binge before seeing “No Way Home,” because — as fans already know — Scarlet Witch will continue to factor into the films. Bonus points if you’ve seen “Loki” and have some idea of how the multiverse works.

Marvel’s Netflix series get an official MCU connection

Remember the days before Disney had its own streaming service to pack with original content and Marvel Television was a thing? It wasn’t that long ago.

Netflix is home to six Marvel Television series that are technically set within the MCU and this connection was part of their appeal when they launched. But while some of the shows occasionally referenced happenings from the film side of things, that relationship wasn’t reciprocal. And this was before these series’ status within the MCU became even more muddled after they were canceled and Marvel Studios started making its own original series for Disney+ with explicit connections to the films.

Considering Netflix’s street-level Marvel heroes were all based in New York, it’s only fitting that Queens’ friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is the one that gets to make the official connection with that corner of the Marvel universe.

Stay through the credits, natch

There are, indeed, two credits scenes — sort of. And the second will have extra resonance for fans who have watched the entirety of several of the Disney+ series.

The door’s still open for Venom

After a post-credits scene in “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” saw Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock transported to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the stage seemed to be set for a face-to-face encounter between Sony’s Marvel headliners. It’s only a modest spoiler to reveal that doesn’t happen, but Brock (and Venom) does manage to stick around long enough to cause some trouble, leaving the door open for a potential Venom-Spidey crossover in the near future.