Spider-Man: No Way Home ending explained and what it means for the future of the MCU

Spider-Man: No Way Home is currently rolling out in cinemas across the world and already there are a million questions for those lucky enough to have seen the latest MCU flick. If you are yet to see the film, then we massively recommend leaving this article immediately and visiting your local cinema as, naturally, major spoilers lie ahead. Still here? Okay, let's break it all down.

Final warning: major spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home alongside potential future spoilers for the wider MCU as a whole

Spider-Man: No Way Home is the conclusion of the Homecoming trilogy, with Tom Holland suiting up as everyone's favourite wall-crawler for his third solo outing and Jon Watts in the director's chair for the third and final time. 

Taking place straight on from the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter is forced to deal with the world finding out his secret identity, only to enlist the help of Doctor Strange in making everyone forget through the means of a magic spell. This goes horribly wrong and the multiverse begins to transport numerous villains from different universes, such as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin, Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus, Flint Mark / Sandman, Curt Conners / Lizard and Max Dillion / Electro. 

After the death of Aunt May (we warned you) at the hands of Green Goblin, Peter's best friend, Ned, tries to locate him using Strange's sling ring, only to accidentally pull through different versions Spider-Man – enter (wait for it) Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire! Yes, the rumours and leaks were all true. What a time to be alive! This then culminates with the three Spider-Men squaring off against all of the villains (apart from Octavius who is now back to being good) on the Statue of Liberty. 

Once everyone is defeated and cured of their powers, Peter agrees to Strange fixing the spell to prevent the multiverse from collapsing in on itself. As a result of this, everyone returns to their own universes and forgets Peter's identity, including his nearest and dearest: MJ, Ned and Happy. With the universe saved, Peter moves into a new flat, designs a new Spidey suit and swings out to continue his friendly neighbourhood heroics.

Okay, time to answer some burning questions.  

So, everyone in the world has forgotten Peter Parker? 

Correct. Nobody remembers who Tom Holland's Peter Parker is and the identity of Spider-Man is back to being kept a secret. J. Jonah Jameson confirms in a broadcast that Spider-Man is still known to the world, so from that, we're assuming he's still an Avenger. Either way, it's set up an exciting new direction for the story to go.  

Are Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield gone for good? 

At the end of the film, both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man return to their respective universes. What the future holds for both is very much up for debate. At 46-years-old, Maguire seems like the less likely candidate (back problems and all). He also doesn't do nearly as much acting as he used to. 

Garfield, on the other hand, is still a major star (recently starring in Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tick, Tick... Boom!) and might be persuaded to return. Nothing is officially on the cards but never say never. Also, I can't get over the fact that only eight years separate the two. 

Is Aunt May really dead? 

Sadly, yes. Aunt May (played admirably by Marisa Tomei) loses her life in the middle of the film and I've not recovered since. She does at the very least leave on the iconic "with great power, comes great responsibility" line. Considering a big part of this film, and Spider-Man in general, is all about loss but carrying on, we doubt the character will return.  

Is Charlie Cox's Daredevil in the MCU now?  

Amidst all of the Spider-Men, Charlie Cox turned up as Matt Murdock / Daredevil in the first 15 minutes of the film as Peter's lawyer. Kevin Feige confirmed that Cox would be the MCU's Daredevil in an interview (via CinemaBlend) ahead of release yet it was still great to see his return. 

Simultaneously, another major Marvel character from the Netflix show was confirmed in Hawkeye episode five, potentially opening the door for more to crossover further down the line. Now if we can just get Jessica Jones back, I can die happy. 

Where's Miles Morales? 

Miles Morales does not appear in No Way Home, however, we do get another reference. Once Electro has been zapped of all his power, he expresses his disappointment that Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man isn't Black but hopes there is one out there. 

The first reference took place in Homecoming when Aaron Davis (Donald Glover) talked about his nephew living in the same neighbourhood as Spider-Man. That nephew in the comics is Miles. Sony does seem to be building towards the introduction of Miles, which could create an interesting dynamic with Peter acting as a mentor. Make it happen. 

Was that Tom Hardy's Venom in the mid-credits scene?  

That's right. Eddie Brock and Venom are found sitting in a bar in the mid-credits scene learning about the events of the MCU, including the Blip, Spider-Man and the Avengers. Brock then quickly disappears back to (presumably) his own universe by Strange's spell, only to leave behind part of the symbiote. This now means two Venoms exist: one in the Tom Hardy universe and one in the Tom Holland MCU.  

What was the final post-credits scene? 

Unusually, the final post-credits scene was not another small teaser scene. It was actually a trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The last happened in Captain America: The First Avenger back in 2011, showing a teaser trailer for The Avengers. It was officially uploaded by Marvel on December 22nd, 2021. 

During the footage, we see Strange dealing with the fallout of No Way Home and his tampering with the multiverse. The biggest moments shown are Strange speaking with Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch about how to save the multiverse, before later meeting Strange Supreme, an evil alternative version of the Doctor. What If...? episode 4 on Disney Plus gave us a look at the character and is well worth a watch, though not connected. 

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will star Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams and Chiwetel Ejiofor. It will premiere in theatres on May 6th, 2022,