We’d long suspected that The Amazing Spider-Man’s Lizard was returning for Spider-Man: No Way Home, but yesterday’s new trailer finally showed him in all his scaly glory. He’ll be joining returning villains Electro, Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, and Sandman (meaning we’re still one short of a full Sinister Six).
The new footage even offered an explanation why Doctor Strange’s spell has brought them back: all these villains died fighting their respective Spider-Men. But while that’s true for the other classic characters (though Sandman’s ‘death’ in Spider-Man 3 is debatable), Lizard definitely didn’t die in The Amazing Spider-Man.
The ending of that film saw Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man curing Curt Connors of his lizard form, with the film ending with Connors in a prison cell demanding that a shadowy figure leave Peter alone. So why the obvious plot hole?
The simplest answer might be that Doctor Strange is mistaken about the true reason for these villains’ return. However, another option is that the infinite nature of the multiverse means this isn’t the same Lizard we saw in The Amazing Spider-Man. Perhaps in his universe, Gwen Stacey didn’t manage to formulate the antidote and Spidey was forced to kill him.
Given that there’s strong evidence that other characters have been digitally removed from action scenes, it now seems all but certain that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield will indeed be sliding back into their Spidey suits – so Garfield’s Peter reuniting with Lizard should be a high-stakes moment. Let’s hope the film provides some answers and doesn’t gloss over this, as right now, Lizard’s return is a real head-scratcher.
If you’ve got a theory let us know in the comments.
Spider-Man: No Way Home hits theaters on December 17, 2021.
