Spider-Man: No Way Home is the final chapter in the wall-crawler's first MCU trilogy, and if Tom Holland is to be believed, this could be the last time he plays Peter Parker in any universe.
Franchise producer Amy Pascal has suggested that another trilogy is in the works (only to quickly backtrack), while Sony Pictures' CEO has confirmed there is a deal in place for Marvel Studios to use Spider-Man for at least one more appearance. It's all a little muddled, but how does Spider-Man: No Way Home set up the iconic character's big screen future?
Below, we break down everything that happens right at the end of the film, and go into detail about what all of it means for Peter moving forward.
You shouldn't need us to tell you that MAJOR SPOILERS follow once you hit that Next button!
First, A Little Background...
With a little help from his friends, Spider-Man manages to defeat the villains who arrived in the MCU from other realities. However, the Multiverse then starts to break apart, and everyone who knows it's Peter Parker beneath the mask starts to break through.
Through those cracks in reality, we see the silhouettes of characters like Kraven the Hunter, Rhino, and Scorpion (among others), and if something isn't done to stop them, heroes, villains, and everyone inbetween will enter the MCU from countless alternate timelines, tearing it asunder.
The only way to fix this is to finish the spell from earlier, but there's a tragic twist...
Goodbye Peter Parker
Completing the spell can fix the Multiverse, but means the world will forget Peter Parker exists. Everyone who has ever known and loved the teenager will have no memory of him, but the world will still remember Spider-Man. After a tearful goodbye with MJ and Ned (which sees the former tell her boyfriend she loves him), Peter vows to later find his friends and tell them everything.
Doctor Strange finishes the spell, and immediately returns those villains - who Spider-Man has managed to cure and essentially reform so they don't die at the hands of their Spideys - to their respective realities. Those tears in the Multiverse heal themselves, and the day has been saved.
A news report with J. Jonah Jameson sees him demand the "menace" Spider-Man unmask, and we later find Peter visiting his Aunt May's grave. Happy Hogan then appears and asks Peter how he knew May Parker; he clearly has no memory whatsoever of the kid who he became something of a father figure to, though the wall-crawler does retain his memories of life before the spell.
The Ultimate Sacrifice
In a snowy New York City, Peter tracks MJ down to the diner she works in and rehearses reading a letter he's written that explains everything. He enters the store and speaks to an MJ who clearly has no recollection of the guy who introduces himself as Peter Parker.
He begins to tell his story when Ned arrives and starts talking to MJ. They're excited about heading to MIT together, and it appears Peter is starting to have reservations about going through with what he promised. Just as he's about to start reading his letter to MJ, the wall-crawler notices the plaster on her head from injuries she sustained at the Statue of Liberty. With that, he has a change of heart.
Saying he'll see her around, Peter makes his exit, though MJ seems to have some flicker of recognition. Clearly, the hero realises that his friends will be safer and happier without him.
An Amazing New Beginning
In New York City, Peter enters his new apartment. It's small and a little sparse, but the hero seems content; with a few reminders of his past life (including a LEGO Minifigure of Emperor Palpatine from that Death Star set), we see that Parker has used a sewing machine to make himself a costume.
Identical to what his comic book counterpart wears - it's relatively similar in colour to the suit from the "Parker Industries" era without the glowing logo/metallic finish - this is a Stark-less costume and more akin to what we saw Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire's Spider-Men wear. Listening to a police scanner, Spidey leaps into action and heads off into a snowy Big Apple to fight crime.
With that, Spider-Man is in a place where he could essentially be written out of the MCU and appear in Sony's Marvel movies as a regular Spidey without Stark Tech. However, there's clearly still a place for the hero in this shared world, albeit as a more comic accurate Spider-Man!