While the MCU has made Hollywood history through the years in more ways than one, the speculation and anticipation surrounding Sony and Marvel's ambitious Spider-Man: No Way Home has already solidified this threequel as one for the books.
The next-level hype can be attributed to a perfect storm of rumors and evidence pointing to former Spideys from franchises past coupled with the confirmed involvement of those former franchises' villains, not to mention new Spidey suits, Doctor Strange, and director Jon Watts referring to the film as "Spider-Man: Endgame."
And, even though audiences received a record-shattering trailer in August, the film's lack of promotional material - and a second trailer - has led to fans taking matters into their own hands as they struggle to make sense of this multiversal tale.
Fortunately, a newly-released photo from the film may have hinted at a potential action sequence in a setting that fans have already seen.
Spider-Man: No Way Home Photo Teases Sanctum Battle?
A new behind-the-scenes photo from Empire Magazine offered another look at Tom Holland in his Spider-Man suit, but what makes this image particularly interesting is that the background appears to match a location that fans have seen in other stills and the trailer itself.
In this new still, Peter appears to be standing in the mysterious basement where Doctor Strange casts that dangerous spell leading to multiversal implications.
Thanks to a new children's book titled Spider-Man's Very Strange Day, it's now known that this basement space under Strange's Sanctum is called The Undercroft.
While the first trailer showed the stairwell to The Undercroft, fans actually saw a glimpse of it in one of the first images released for the film.
In February 2021, ahead of Spider-Man 3's title announcement, a still of MJ, Ned, and Peter entering the basement was first revealed and clearly shows that same stairwell in the background.
The Undercroft also appears to be where the trio was pictured looking at Ned's laptop.
Now, the new image from Empire connects all of these images, in which the background not only shows the stairwell but also Ned's open laptop on a nearby table.
Pictured below is a zoomed-in image of the table from the background where Ned, MJ, and Peter had been working on that laptop.
A Web of Spider-Man Theories
Marvel has a reputation for including fake footage in its trailers and promotional material, making it difficult for fans to piece together the plot of a film. However, since The Undercroft was featured in both the trailer and in these various images, fans can expect this set to play an integral role in the film even after Strange casts Peter's spell.
Now, when comparing all of these photos and trailer footage, there appear to be two obvious differences.
First of all, in the photos involving Doctor Strange, the setting shows an abundance of rockwork and rubble as opposed to the dirty, cluttered look of the basement where Peter, Ned, and MJ are pictured.
However, the behind-the-scenes photo of Holland's Parker in his Spider-Man suit implies that both spaces are connected as the basement area is visible in the background while the rockwork and rubble are seen in the foreground.
Secondly, while Peter is pictured wearing his Tobey Maguire-esque gray suit without the jacket when pictured with MJ and Ned, in the new still, he's in his Spidey suit, indicating audiences might see a battle in The Undercroft of Strange's Sanctum.
In fact, both of these points support what was shown in a No Way Home LEGO set which, interestingly enough, shows both rooms of The Undercroft, the same doorway from the new still, a battle sequence, and even a computer on a desk.
While the trailer showed Peter confronting Doc Ock and the Green Goblin outside of the Sanctum, the trailer also showed him supposedly discovering the Lizard from The Amazing Spider-Man in a dark interior set made of stone. Maybe this is where he encounters threats from that franchise and beyond?
Spider-Man: No Way Home swings into theaters on December 17, 2021.
