Spider-Man: No Way Home might finally be giving us a live-action Sinister Six movie
After years of failed attempts, director Jon Watts may have landed on a Multiversal solution to recreating Spidey's greatest foes.
As the first trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home swings into action, it looks like Jon Watts’ threequel is blowing the doors off the Marvel Multiverse. While the tease of alternate realities found its origins in Avengers: Endgame, it was Mysterio who really toyed with its potential in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Still, the Multiverse isn't the only long-awaited storyline that could finally be arriving in the movie because No Way Home might have just revealed a live-action Sinister Six storyline that’s been in the works since 2013. Way back when, Drew Goddard was attached to direct a movie that would’ve brought together Rhino, Vulture, Doctor Octopus, Kraven, Mysterio, and Green Goblin.
Despite these plans crashing and burning, the idea might’ve found a new place to call home, with No Way Home already confirming some returning Spidey-villains and hinting at others apparently flexing their muscles from the sidelines.
And even though the MCU is yet to officially acknowledge that Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire are set to reprise their respective roles as Peter Parker from Marc Webb and Sam Raimi’s eras of the wall-crawling hero, the surprise might’ve been spoiled ahead of time thanks to this confirmed who’s who of villains from both iterations.
Who will be in the Sinister Six?
Yes, it’s technically only Alfred Molina’s Otto “Doc Ock” Octavius that gets his time to shine in the trailer, but look close enough and you’ll see a potential Sinister Six line-up lurking in the shadows. Two of the most obvious additions are Jamie Foxx’s Electro from The Amazing Spider-Man and Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn/Green Goblin from the Raimiverse. As well as one scene where a lightning bolt strikes a car (hello, Electro), a pumpkin bomb rolls toward the camera, accompanied by Dafoe’s cackle from back in the day.
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Given that the Sinister Three doesn’t have the same ring to it, what about the others? Eagle-eyed fans have noted the Electro scene sees his bolt being accompanied by a swirling tornado of what could be sand. It’s definitely plausible that Thomas Haden Church will reprise his role as Sandman and, given he was a rare highlight of the bloated Spider-Man 3, there’s sure to be plenty of support for the idea. Finally, others think they’ve pinpointed the moment Lizard makes his move.
A turning rumour mill has claimed Rhys Ifans will return as Doctor Curt Connors/Lizard from The Amazing Spider-Man. As much as we’d like to see Dylan Baker get to realise his potential of evolving into Lizard from the Raimi days, Ifans makes more sense.
Alternatively, some have suggested the above blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment is Venom for the long-hoped crossover between Holland and Hardy, but we’re not buying that the trailer would spoil that bombshell.
What about the rest of the Sinister Six?
The first No Way Home trailer seems to stick the middle finger to the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters, or SPUMC (we’ll never get used to that name). After Spider-Man: Homecoming introduced Michael Keaton’s Vulture, jaws were on the floor when he popped up in the trailer for Daniel Espinosa’s Morbius.
At one point, it seemed Sony and Disney were working together to craft a live-action Sinister Six that would consist of Tom Hardy’s Venom, Keaton’s Vulture, Jared Leto’s Morbius, and possible places for the likes of Homecoming’s Michael Mando as Scorpion, Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s upcoming turn as Kraven, and others. The end stinger from Homecoming featured Scorpion saying he knew “some guys” who want to go after Spidey – suggesting this would form the Sinister Six.
Of course there was no Multiverse then, meaning whatever Watts had planned has presumably changed. Although Mando's Mac Gargan can still fill that final No Way Home slot, it remains to be seen how Keaton comes into play in Morbius. Paul Giamatti’s name as Rhino has also been thrown around for a possible No Way Home return (from the Andrew Garfield era), meaning the sixth member of the Sinister Six is very much still up for grabs. Still, we doubt it’s Mephisto suiting up to join the team of supervillains – even if he does turn out to be behind the whole thing.
Finally, the fact that Mysterio gets a name drop in the trailer could be the confirmation we need that Jake Gyllenhaal will stick a goldfish bowl on his head once again. Mysterio’s Multiverse story in Far From Home may have been bull, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a Multiverse version of Quentin Beck out there somewhere. Remembering Gyllenhaal’s fan-favourite status in the MCU, it’s a licence to print money if he comes back – and it's not like other Spidey villains (Dock Ock, Green Goblin) aren't also returning from the dead.
Basically, the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer did exactly what it was supposed to do, and left us with more questions than answers for the Multiverse, Morbius, and beyond. It’s clear the Sinister Six are coming, but it remains to be seen who these six really are and whether they’ll be sticking around beyond No Way Home.
We say, why not extend the party and invite everyone along for the Sinister Twelve? After all, it happened in the comics...
Spider-Man: No Way Home is in cinemas from the 17th December. Want more? Check out our dedicated Movies page or our full TV Guide.
