There's a lot riding on the third movie in a trilogy. The team behind these creations has to put out something that aims to recreate what made the films preceding it special while also trying to top them. It's a tall order no matter what. Most trilogies do not stick the landing and the third act tends to pale in comparison to the middle chapter. The Dark Knight trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, and even the original trilogy of Star Wars come to mind as trilogies where the last act failed to impress in the way that their predecessors did.
It's understandable then that expectations are high for the third entry in Marvel's Spider-Man films. Tom Holland has truly made the role of Peter Parker his own and captured the hearts of many fans around the world. While his first outing as the infamous web-slinger may not have been in his own feature-length film, it was so strong that it made audiences show up in droves when his time finally came to take the spotlight all to himself. The title for the third entry has recently been revealed to the world after a series of clever social media stunts, getting the anticipation mill spinning once more. However, as excited as fans may be, the title Spider-Man: No Way Home implies a dark road ahead for Peter Parker and friends.
Looking back at the previous two installments of the Tom Holland Spider-Man films, the word home is a key part to the naming convention here. Each title has a lot to do with the plot and the theme of the film; sometimes in a real-world, meta sense as well. Take Spider-Man: Homecoming, for example. Sure, the film does have a homecoming dance at Peter's school, but it was also a title that signified the official return of the Spider-Man character to the Marvel stable of characters. It also implied a strong focus on the high school life of Peter Parker, which was something that that previous Sony-produced Spider-Man franchises only briefly dealt with for the most part.
The next film in the Tom Holland films decided to take an approach that no Spider-Man film before it ever had. Spider-Man: Far From Home was the very first to take the titular hero out of New York City and literally far away from home overseas to Europe. The film's title also had multiple meanings. The first was of course in regards to the locale of Peter and friends being on their European trip, with Spider-Man having to adapt to not being surrounded by the tall building of New York that define his traversal and fighting methods. The next was the type of threat Peter faced, believing he was facing off against planet-threatening forces and believing that (secretly villainous) Mysterio was also far from home in having come from another timeline to help Peter fight these monsters. The last was the way in which Spider-Man had to operate, by taking orders from Nick Fury instead of acting on his own as he typically does.
Keeping the importance of the subtitles of these films in mind, it is highly exciting and concerning that the next movie is titled No Way Home. The first two films have lighter implications. Homecomingis a fun school event. Far From Home might imply the unknown, but the vacation angle is still fun sounding by nature. No Way Home, however, implies a lack of hope and a sense of danger. But what could it mean? Looking back at the end of Far From Home seems to hold the biggest clues.
Remember that at the very end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, audiences are treated to their first glimpse of the MCU's J. Jonah Jameson. While he may be rocking a trendy and timely podcast instead of a newspaper, he's still very much running The Daily Bugle. What's more, he's also still played by J.K. Simmons, a man who was so clearly born to play the role that Marvel couldn't bear to recast him. Unlike the original Sony and Sam Raimi-directed Spider-Man trilogy, Jameson doesn't just have a strong dislike of Spider-Man, he also knows his true identity as Peter Parker. Far From Home ends with a bombshell, as Jameson reveals this fact to the world.
As audiences have seen in the original Spider-Man movie with Tobey Maguire, as well as in the comics, when the wrong people find out about Peter's secret identity things do not go well. No Way Home almost certainly points to this, with Peter never being able to return to his original life the way it used to be now that his greatest secret is out. Knowing Marvel though, this title will also have a double or triple meaning. The best guess has to deal with the rumors that there may be appearances from past Spider-Men in this film. It could very well mean that Tom Holland's Peter Parker may be jumping into the Spider-Verse, encountering alternate realities and literally being stuck without knowing how to get back to his own. One thing is clear, if No Way Home can stick the landing of this trilogy, this may be a trip that fans don't want to go back on.