MARVEL MARATHON DEEP DIVE
SPIDER-MAN
NO WAY HOME
Spider-Man: No Way Home reached US cinemas on 17 December 2021 with Jon Watts directing Tom Holland’s third film as Peter Parker. Doctor Strange’s spell opens the door to villains and heroes from earlier Spider-Man films.
A DEAL THAT ALMOST ENDED
HOW NO WAY HOME REACHED THE SCREEN
A third MCU Spider-Man film was planned during production of Homecoming in 2017. Marvel Studios left the project in August 2019 after negotiations between Sony and Disney broke down, and a new agreement followed at the end of September 2019, after a negative fan reaction. Jon Watts was in final negotiations to direct at the time of the new deal, Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers began the script in earnest by December 2019, and Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal produced. The title was revealed at the end of February 2021.
In October 2021, Watts said they were “definitely trying to be ambitious” with the film, and compared it with a landmark Marvel film: “It’s ‘Spider-Man: Endgame’.”
NEW YORK, ATLANTA AND A CAST OF SECRETS
HOW THE FILM WAS MADE
Second-unit filming took place in New York City from 14 to 16 October 2020 under the working title Serenity Now. Production moved to Trilith Studios in Atlanta by 25 October, and filming wrapped on 26 March 2021. Mauro Fiore replaced Seamus McGarvey as cinematographer after McGarvey contracted COVID-19, and Michael Giacchino returned to compose. The budget was $200 million.
Marvel and Sony kept the involvement of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield secret despite fan speculation and leaks, and Holland denied they would appear in December 2020 and again in February 2021. Garfield denied it in early May 2021 but later said “never say never.”
THREE PETERS AND A ROGUES’ GALLERY
WHO IS IN THE CAST
Tom Holland plays Peter Parker, with Zendaya as Michelle “MJ” Jones-Watson, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds, Marisa Tomei as May Parker and Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan. Returning villains are Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus, Jamie Foxx as Electro, Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin, Thomas Haden Church as Sandman and Rhys Ifans as the Lizard. Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire appear as earlier Peter Parkers, and Charlie Cox appears as Matt Murdock. Tom Hardy appears, uncredited, as Eddie Brock in the mid-credits scene.
TICKET SITES CRASH, THEN A BILLION
HOW THE FILM WAS RELEASED AND WHAT IT EARNED
The film was first dated 16 July 2021, then moved to 5 November 2021 and then to December. It premiered at the Fox Village Theater in Los Angeles on 13 December 2021, opened in the UK and Ireland on 15 December and in the US on 17 December, where it played in 4,325 theatres. Tickets went on sale at midnight on 29 November 2021, and Fandango and AMC crashed under the demand.
It opened to $260,138,569 in the US and went on to earn $814,866,759 there and $1,921,426,073 worldwide. It was the highest-grossing film of 2021, the first to pass $1 billion during the pandemic, and the highest-grossing Spider-Man film. Chinese authorities asked for the Statue of Liberty to be removed from the film, Sony refused, and the film had no Chinese release date as of February 2022.
Tom Hardy appears as Eddie Brock in the mid-credits scene, and the post-credits scene was a teaser for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
THE REWATCH
A 93% CRITICS SCORE AND AN A+ FROM AUDIENCES
Rotten Tomatoes lists a 93% critics’ score from 430 reviews and a 97% audience score, and its consensus calls the film “a bigger, bolder Spider-Man sequel.” Metacritic gives it 71 from 60 critics, and audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it an A+. Kevin Maher of The Times called it “as satisfying to watch as it is perilous to discuss,” while Benjamin Lee of The Guardian said the script “lacks the expected fizz.”
The film was nominated for Best Visual Effects at the 94th Academy Awards and was disqualified from consideration for the 75th British Academy Film Awards because it was not on BAFTA’s streaming service. An extended version, The More Fun Stuff Version, added about 13 minutes and opened in the US on 1 September 2022, taking $6.5 million over the Labor Day weekend.
In the Marvel Marathon it sits in the MCU release order guide between The Daily Bugle Season 2 and Moon Knight, and in the MCU movies in order guide between Eternals and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In the Marvel movies in release order guide it sits between Eternals and Morbius. In the Spider-Man movies in order guide it comes between The Daily Bugle Season 2 and The Daily Bugle Season 3, and in the MCU timeline guide between Eternals and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
QUICK ANSWERS
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME WATCH QUESTIONS
Do I need to watch the older Spider-Man films first?
The earlier Raimi and Amazing Spider-Man films give the crossover its full context, and the two preceding Tom Holland films, Homecoming and Far From Home, set up the story directly.
How long is Spider-Man: No Way Home?
148 minutes. The extended version adds about 13 minutes.
Is there a post-credits scene?
Yes. There is a mid-credits scene with Eddie Brock and a post-credits teaser for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The extended version replaces the teaser with a different post-credits scene.
Which Marvel Marathon guides include Spider-Man: No Way Home?
It appears in the MCU release order, MCU movies in order, Marvel movies in release order, Spider-Man movies in order and MCU timeline guides.
EDITORIAL NOTES
SOURCES AND UPDATES
Development, production, release, box-office and reception details are checked against a film reference, entertainment reporting, box-office data and aggregator scores, cited individually below.