//

MJ (Zendaya) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland) jump off a bridge in “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” Credit: Courtesy of Matt Kennedy/Sony Pictures via TNS

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” will be an early holiday gift to those who have waited two and a half years since the theatrical release of the previous installment in the series. 

The film, directed by Jon Watts and starring Tom Holland as Peter Parker and Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, is set to hit theaters Dec. 17. Originally slated to release July 16, months of production delays and rumored appearances from special characters have made this movie arguably the most highly anticipated and ambitious Marvel project since “Avengers: Endgame.”

Since late February, when Spider-Man stars Tom Holland, Jacob Batalon and Zendaya announced the movie would be titled “No Way Home,” fans have been speculating about the meaning behind the title and theorizing how the plot will unfold, along with who viewers can expect to see in the movie. 

At the end of the previous installment, “Spider-Man: Far from Home,” viewers learn Parker’s identity has been revealed to the world by the villain, Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal). For the first time in cinematic history, the hero will be unmasked and unable to separate his normal life from the responsibilities and duties of being Spider-Man. 

From the trailer, viewers learn this unmasking results in Parker seeking out a friend, Doctor Strange, for help, asking if there is any way he can alter reality so everyone will forget he is Spider-Man. As Doctor Strange casts his spell, Parker continuously interrupts him as he realizes he doesn’t want his loved ones to forget his secret, resulting in the spell going horribly wrong and unleashing something never seen on the big screen before.

Many Spider-Man aficionados theorized possibilities of a multiverse, where multiple realities clash with each other and result in certain characters appearing in unfamiliar worlds. A glimpse of this was seen in 2018 with “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse,” but seeing it unfold in this upcoming film is something fans seem to be excited for, and it may mean the return of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s renditions of the character.

In the initial teaser trailer — which was seemingly dropped out of nowhere by Sony in late August — fans were elated to see the return of some of the biggest characters in the Spider-Man universe, including Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molena) and a hint at what seemed to be the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe). 

However, Spider-Man fans have been hungry for this movie for what feels like an eternity, and the teaser trailer did not satiate some. In response, the “Spider-Man: No Way Home” Twitter account dropped the first official poster for the movie Nov. 7. 

A second trailer, released Tuesday, seemed to sate fans and confirmed five villains are set to face the web-slinging protagonist, bringing together more antagonists than any Spider-Man film before, and more than most superhero movies in general. 

Though the marketing for this film has been unconventional, the mystique behind the story continues to build and may be the very reason fans are so eager to flood the cinemas and see the movie opening day.