The upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home has been hyped up to the point that many fans are expecting some kind of disappointment when their very elaborate and far-reaching theories and predictions don't materialize. After all we have been here before a few times in the last year, mainly thanks to the arrival of shows like WandaVision and Loki and the very over-ambitious plans that fans had for the finale of both series. There were theories about Mephisto appearing in both series, WandaVision's Paul Bettany teased working with an amazing actor he had never worked with before which turned out to be himself, and Loki's writer commenting that he had been given carte blanche to use pretty much any characters he wanted in the show had fans thinking that the series was going to turn into the Back to the Future of the Marvel Universe and were left disappointed when only a couple of familiar faces played a part in the series.

However, Spider-Man: No Way Home looks set to actually bring everything expected of it and more, and director Jon Watts has not done anything to damped that hope as he called the movie Spider-Man: Endgame. It has already been made clear in a number of recent interviews that Spider-Man: No Way Home is the end of this era of Tom Holland's Spider-Man, at least in terms of solo movies. With Sony now seemingly pressing ahead with the development of their own universe of Spider-Man characters, it is likely that there is a reason why this movie is called No Way Home - because if a number of theories are to be believed, the movie will see the web-slinger bring ripped away from the MCU and into the newly named Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters for good.

Of course we already know that a number of Marvel villains previously seen in Sony's Spider-Man movies of the past are returning for this film, as well as the almost now certain belief that both Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire will also be appearing as their respective Spider-Men, and with Doctor Strange along for the ride, the multiverse at stake, it certainly seems that Marvel Studios are taking 2021 out with a bang.

"We're definitely trying to be ambitious," Watts told Empire in the upcoming new issue. "It's Spider-Man: Endgame."

"When I was first pitched the idea, I was like, 'Wow, that would be awesome if we could pull it off'", says Tom Holland regarding Doc Ock's return. "'But there's just no way it's going to work. You're just not going to be able to get everyone to do what they need to do. It's just not going to happen.' But it did happen. And it's crazy."

Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige adds, "I remember having discussions with Amy Pascal years ago. 'Do we want to revisit villains we've seen before?' No, let's do Vulture, and Mysterio, and characters we haven't brought to the screen before. But I remember thinking, 'How would you even do Doc Ock again?', because Alfred Molina is perfect casting. If you ever brought him back, it would have to be him somehow."

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Holland also spoke about working with Alfred Molina. "It was really fun to watch him see how technology has advanced. When he was making these films, the arms were puppets, and when we did it, they're all imaginary and CG. It was quite cool to see him relive it, but also relearn it."

Of course there is yet to be a confirmation of just which other villain will be turning up in the movie, with Jamie Foxx's Electro being the only one fully confirmed at the present time. With a new trailer expected to arrive when Eternals hits theaters in the next couple of weeks, it is surely only a matter of time until Marvel reveals one of its biggest secrets to waiting fans.

Spider-Man: No Way Home opens in movie theaters on December 17th, 2021, and the entire Spider-Man article can be read at Empire Online.