Is Zendaya hinting at a major twist in No Way Home?

While football celebrated its night of nights and Leo Messi’s 7th Ballon d’Or, it was Spider-Man and Dune star Zendaya who stole the internet’s attention with a spectacular dress. 

The feature of Zendaya’s dress was a peculiar golden spine, reminiscent of her Spider-Man: No Way Home co-star Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock. 

One theory floated online is the dress could be hinting at MJ becoming a female Doc Ock — like how Into the Spider-Verse featured a female Doctor Octopus. Most of Spider-Man’s villains are mentors and people close to him, so it would only be fitting for his girlfriend to become one of his greatest rivals.

Doc Ock hasn’t always just been Otto Octavius — there was a second tentacled villain who took up the mantle from Octavius called Lady Octopus. This version first appeared in the comic’s infamous Spider-Man clone saga, which also saw several different Spider-Men appear … sound familiar to No Way Home yet?

The alter ego of Lady Octopus in the comics is Carolyn Trainer, who has only appeared in animated Spider-Man shows so far. Into the Spider-Verse had an iteration of sorts on Lady Octopus with Olivia Octavius taking on the role.

MJ isn’t the only one in the firing line for potential villainous transformations. Fans are wondering if Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) could take up the Hobgoblin title. Leeds had done so in the comics, with him being brainwashed to kill his former friend. Batalon told Instagram followers that he lost 102 pounds (43 kilograms) for his role in the threequel … perhaps this was to become the Hobgoblin? 

Spider-Man: No Way Home is due out on December 16, and with so much hype on the returning villains from previous Spider-Man feature films, Zendaya hadn’t been the center of attention … until now. 

What do you think of Zendaya’s dress? Could she become a major villain? What about the potential for Jacob Batalon to become the first live action Hobgoblin? Sound off in the comments below.