Marvel hit us with a couple of rather shocking deaths in Phase 3, as fan-favorites like Gamora, Black Widow, and Iron Man ultimately saw their demise in the last two films. Now, an alleged Spider-Man: No Way Home plot leak may offer hints at how the film leaves the door open for certain deceased characters to return in the future.
After a decade of seeing these characters battle it out with the toughest enemies in the universe and somehow always making it out alive in the end, it was incredibly difficult to accept their deaths in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as definitive. While Marvel's internal logic dictates that there is no way these characters could ever be brought back to life, some fans are clinging to the hope that some new rule or loophole could still make it possible. Well, thanks to an alleged Marvel "leak" on Reddit, they may finally have an idea as to how Marvel could do it without risking inconsistencies in its multiverse logic.
A few days ago, a Redditor under the alias "spiderforever245" leaked alleged plot details for Spider-Man: No Way Home, revealing possible spoilers in terms of which characters we could end up seeing in the film. This user had accurately determined the rumored cameo appearance in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier's fifth episode before it aired, so many fans now think that the No Way Home leak could bear some degree of truth. According to the unconfirmed information, No Way Home will take off where Far From Home ended, with Tom Holland's Peter Parker in court attempting to prove his innocence from the events of the previous film. Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange would then appear to warn him that "the multiverse is breaking" and that villains from other universes have escaped. With the help of Doctor Strange, as well as Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Peter Parkers from alternate realities, Holland's Spider-Man will be set on a mission to recapture the escaped enemies, with the final act occurring at a Captain America-themed Statue of Liberty.
But how does all of this tie into the resurrection theory? It actually has something to do with Alfred Molina. After much speculation of the actor's return to the big screen, Molina finally confirmed that he will reprise his role as Spider-Man's nemesis Doc Ock in No Way Home. In a recent interview, the actor revealed that he had asked director Jon Watts how he planned to bring Doc Ock back from the dead since the character had died at the end of Spider-Man 2. Watts simply replied saying, "In this universe, no one really dies."
He then brought up the continuity issue regarding his age, since he is now around 16 years older than he was in Spider-Man 2. In response, Watts told him, "Did you see what we did to Bob Downey Jr. and Sam Jackson?" Fans believe Watts was implying that when it comes to "resurrecting" dead heroes, Marvel can always pull them from the different multiverse timelines and still have the original cast reprise their roles. They've done this already with characters like Loki, who died in Infinity War but still appeared in Endgame (and in the upcoming Loki series for Disney Plus).
This may be the only way to "resurrect" the dead without affecting the internal logic that has been established in the films. Besides, with rumors circulating that Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans will eventually return to the MCU, this is likely the only option Marvel has if they wanted to see that through.
Spider-Man: No Way Home debuts in theatres this December 17.
Source: MarvelStudiosSpoilers/Reddit