In the wrong hands, the concept of the multiverse could turn out to be little more than a storytelling crutch, one that provides an easy fallback option with which to resurrect characters from the dead, undo plot points that didn’t work, or just generally provide an easy get out of jail free card for the filmmakers.
However, the Marvel Cinematic Universe rarely does things the easy way, and the first major multiversal variant we saw in action was Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, with his Disney Plus series completely reinventing the sneering villain as an antihero constantly plagued by self-doubt over his own failings.
That’s not to say it’s going to work out like that every time, but in an interview with Fandom, Tom Holland put forth the intriguing suggestion of seeing a villainous or antiheroic version of Spider-Man, which would definitely put a fresh spin on the wholesome web-slinging superhero.
“I also would like to maybe see what happens if my Spider-Man becomes a villain. I think there are some interesting things where you could make a film about an anti-hero, or things like that.”
Of course, the chances of that actually coming to fruition are incredibly slim, especially when No Way Home is poised to obliterate the box office this weekend, but Holland is allowed to dream. His future as Spider-Man is a largely blank slate once his third solo outing is done and dusted, so there could be plenty of unexpected twists and turns to come in time.
