Who is actually *confirmed* to be joining the ‘Spider-Man 3’ cast?
Ever since recent news broke of Alfred Molina’s return to the Spider-Man franchise, our Spidey-senses started tingling. Reprising his role as Doc Ock from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2, Molina will be joining the cast of Disney & Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Spider-Man franchise, led by Tom Holland in the titular role. However, Molina’s leap from Sony’s first Spider-Man trilogy to Disney’s leaves us with a big question . . . how?
After the news broke in October of Jamie Foxx reprising his role as Electro from 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, fans lost their minds – it became clear there was now a realm of possibility in which the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) Spider-Man series could bring back beloved characters from previous incarnations of Spider-Man (not that we’re saying Jamie Foxx’s Electro was beloved, because it wasn’t).
How could this happen? Grab your time stones and suit up as we spin a web to catch the facts (“just like flies”) about a possible Spider-Man multiverse.
MCU and phase 4
With Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: Far From Home acting as a sort of epilogue to phase 3 of the MCU, tying up events in Avengers: Endgame, many were curious as to how a third Spider-Man film would play out, given the surprise ending we saw in the mid-credits scene of Far From Home.
(Spoilers ahead)
At the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, we saw the return of actor JK Simmons in the role of pretentious editor-in-chief of the fictional Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson. Simmons played the role in all three of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films which starred Tobey Maguire in the titular role.
The cameo, while welcomed, was a surprise to many, as it didn’t make sense as to WHY an actor would return to the same character that he played in a different iteration of the franchise. However, most of us brushed it off as an “innocent and fun cameo”. Little did we know…
Disney and Marvel’s Spider-Man 3
J.K. Simmons returning as J. Jonah Jameson was one thing, but the news of Jamie Foxx coming back as Electro? This began the speculation amongst Spidey fans . . . Are they about to do what we think they’re about to do? It’s sort of looking like it, right?
The 2018 animated and Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse showed fans of the web-slinger how a multi-universe film could work, making multiple Spider-Mans from multiple dimensions unite in order to defeat a threat that could impact every one of them.
Given the last string of films that the MCU has given us, including Doctor Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, as well as Avengers: Endgame, we now know that the MCU is open to other dimensions beyond the galaxy, so it’s very well possible that Marvel President Kevin Feige is prepping for the unthinkable . . . A multiverse!
Spider-Man 3 casting
The upcoming Spider-Man 3 film, from what we understand, will bring in Jamie Foxx’s Electro as one of the baddies ready to fight with Spidey. Now we know Alfred Molina’s Doc Octopus will be joining the fight, too. That’s two separate villains from two previously separate franchises, in case you lost count.
So if it’s possible for both Foxx & Molina to return, then does that mean we’re about to get the news that Tobey Maguire & Andrew Garfield will be returning as well, both donning the blue & red spandex-suit one final time?
Both actors, while taking part in some extremely successful Spider-Man films, each ended their respective franchises with duds: 2007’s Spider-Man 3 (Emo Peter Parker) and 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (with Paul Giamatti unsure if he was in a superhero film or a sequel to 2002’s Big Fat Liar).
What we know
The upcoming film, still without an official title, will almost certainly round out the theme of adding the word “home” somewhere in the title, leaving fans guessing as to how that might play into all of this insane casting news.
Maybe Spider-Man: Homesick, where Tom Holland’s Peter Parker gets the coronavirus and has delusions of alternate universes colliding with his own? Who knows? All we know, for now, is Jamie Foxx & Alfred Molina are confirmed to join the already established Spider-Man 3 cast featuring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, and Marisa Tomei.
Additionally, we know Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange is also set to join this film, presumably taking the mentor role for Peter, a title formerly held by Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark. Maybe Doctor Strange is the key to unlocking these speculated dimensions and bringing the multiverse reality to the MCU? His next titular film is titled Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, after all.
We shall wait & see.
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The untitled Spider-Man 3 is expected to hit theaters on December 17, 2021. Are you excited for new Spider-Man content? Let us know in the comments!
