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‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ versus fearsome fan expectations

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” doesn’t swing into theatres until Dec. 17, but fans — The Scout included — have been speculating and theorizing about the film for over a year. The new trailer released on Tuesday has only fueled the fire of fan frenzy as future audience members ask more and more questions.

Despite this week’s trailer confirming returns for villains of previous “Spider-Man” film series like the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus and Electro, actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield have not been officially confirmed to appear as their versions of Peter Parker in “No Way Home.”

Here, I advise caution.

As excited as I am to see the film and as much as I may want Maguire and Garfield to return, I won’t base my opinion of “No Way Home” solely on those two webbed spandex-clad possibilities.

Overhyping a movie or TV show based on fan theories has become a major problem for Disney. Since the corporate conglomerate has acquired existing franchises like “Star Wars” and Marvel Comics, the existing fan bases have maligned projects like “The Last Jedi” and the “WandaVision” finale simply because the final product did not align with their expectations.

When given the opportunity after the departure of the original writer and director, Disney reshaped “The Rise of Skywalker” into something they thought would give fans everything they wanted. In doing so, the subsequent rewrites trampled all over whatever uniqueness the previous installment brought into the sequel trilogy. The results left audiences with an unsatisfying mess hell bent on overcorrecting for complaints about “The Last Jedi.” 

Am I saying that fans should never make theories about their favorite movies and shows ever again? Of course not. I’m saying that people should take theories and internet rumor mills with a few grains of salt.

The whole point of seeing a movie or watching a show should be to go on a ride and see where it takes you. Sure, it’d be nice if everything we expected and hoped for was in it, but wouldn’t that get boring after a while?

That’s why I’m a little worried about “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to see the movie, but I’m afraid that it’s going to be all spark and no substance. If executed poorly, a multiversal Sinister Six could end up being just a trap to lure in viewers with nostalgia.

At any rate, if Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield don’t end up returning in “No Way Home,” there are plenty of other “Spider-Man” movies to watch to get those Spidey-Senses tingling.

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