With the MCU's current offerings paving the way for the multiverse, it is heavily expected that Sony and Marvel Studios' third installment in the Spider-Man franchise will bring together alternate versions of the webslinger's supporting cast and rogues gallery.
Rampant rumors have surrounded Spider-Man: No Way Home's development and production, with some suggesting that Willem Dafoe will reprise his role as the Green Goblin and others indicating that Rhino and the Lizard will return from the Amazing Spider-Man series. In regards to Sony's current on-screen villains, the studio reportedly does have a plan for how Peter Parker will interact with the likes of Venom and Kraven the Hunter.
One villain noticeably missing from the discussion is Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio, who was seemingly killed off in the final moments of Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Could a new LEGO set under the Spider-Man: No Way Home product line be teasing his return?
WILL NO WAY HOME INCLUDE MYSTERIO?
LEGO has revealed a new set under the Spider-Man: No Way Home marketing banner, titled 76184 "Spider-Man vs. Mysterio’s Drone Attack." The set comes with Spider-Man in his Far From Home suit, Nick Fury, Mysterio, and one of the villain's drones.
Despite being listed under the threequel's title, it seems that this product is actually based on Spider-Man: Far From Home. A graphic on the front notes that this set is "inspired by Marvel Studios' Spider-Man: Far From Home."
This likely indicates that this set is not depicting a scene from the upcoming Spider-Man threequel, meaning that fans should not take this as evidence for Mysterio or Nick Fury making an appearance in No Way Home.
The track record for the accuracy of LEGO sets is also hit-and-miss, as they are frequently based on concept art shared early in the film's development.
An infamous example is the LEGO Iron Man 3 set 76008 "Iron Man vs. The Mandarin: Ultimate Showdown," which included The Mandarin in a small buggy going up against Tony Stark's Heartbreaker armor. Viewers of the film will know that this scene was never depicted on screen.
Other inaccuracies have previously occurred in LEGO sets, such as the Vision's Mind Stone being blue instead of yellow in the Avengers: Age of Ultron set 76032 "The Avengers Quinjet City Chase" and the appearance of a large buggy for Cap and Bucky in the Captain America: Civil War set 76047 "Black Panther Pursuit." Therefore, fans should temper their expectations in regard to the possible appearances of Mysterio and Nick Fury in No Way Home.
IS NICK FURY REALLY BEING KEPT FAR FROM HOME?
The decision to base a set for the No Way Home wave of LEGO products on Spider-Man: Far From Home is an interesting one, and was likely done to release products alongside the film without spoiling it. Marvel Studios is notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to giving merchandise and toy manufacturers information about their films, so the brick-based company likely made this and the other Spider-Man: Homecoming set to fill in the gaps.
While this set does not add any further evidence to Nick Fury and Mysterio's inclusions in No Way Home, it doesn't necessarily debunk their potential appearances either. It is likely that the former head of SHIELD is dealing with his own problems in Secret Invasion and Mysterio may very well be dead, but there is a still chance that the two could return given how integral they were to Far From Home's ending. And who knows, the multiverse opens up the possibility for any character dead or alive to make a grand return.
There is also a small possibility that this set may be inspired by Far From Home and could also be interlinked with the plot of No Way Home. The God of Mischief has been traversing through various moments in time in Loki, so could Peter Parker return to some of his greatest hits?
The accompanying LEGO set based on Spider-Man: Homecoming could hint at this, as the Spider-Man in that set is completely different from any seen before. Is there a chance that the black and gold wall-crawler is a Variant? Spider-Man may have to return to some of his key moments from his MCU past and set things straight with the timeline to fix the multiversal chaos that surrounds him.
Spider-Man: No Way Home arrives in theaters on December 17, 2021.
