Jamie Foxx is returning to play Electro in Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man 3, and the surprising announcement almost instantly led to speculation that the MCU was mounting a live-action Spider-Verse movie. That might be the long game, but a new fan theory is claiming that the third solo adventure for Tom Holland’s Peter Parker could end up featuring many more familiar faces than just Foxx’s Max Dillon.
We already knew that the multiverse was set to be one of the pillars of Phase Four thanks to projects like WandaVision, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Loki, but few people were expecting Spider-Man 3 to involve alternate realities and fractured timelines, especially when Far From Home looked to point the narrative in the direction of Spidey becoming a fugitive after having his identity revealed.
J.K. Simmons’ J. Jonah Jameson has already introduced a character from outside the MCU’s continuity, so the precedent is there and bringing in The Amazing Spider-Man 2‘s Electro is simply the next logical progression. There’s also been plenty of rumors making the rounds that a live-action Spider-Verse is in the works as Sony look to capitalize on the success of the animated modern classic.
In fact, the latest theory goes onto say that Spider-Man 3 could rely on the Web of Life and Destiny, “a cosmic force that binds all time and space together,” from the comic books to explain how so many worlds are colliding, which would create a storytelling opportunity to bring in even more familiar faces, including Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire.
As ScreenRant writes:
Spider-Man: Homecoming 3 could well be the live-action “Spider-Verse,” establishing Peter Parker’s ties to the Multiverse. This would actually flow organically from Spider-Man: Far From Home, which saw Peter gain control of his spider-sense (or “Peter Tingle,” as Aunt May calls it). In the comics, the spider-sense is Spider-Man’s bond to the Web of Life and Destiny, granting him an innate sense of the world around him and a slight degree of precognition. It’s technically called an “arachnofrequency,” and some Spider-Men have even been able to communicate with one another across the Multiverse. Peter’s experiments with the spider-sense could well have amplified his connection with the Web of Life and Destiny, preparing the way for a “Spider-Verse” plot.
It’s an interesting bit of speculation, no doubt, but we’ll just have to wait and see if it amounts to anything when Spider-Man 3 swings into theaters in 2021.
