Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures certainly took their time starting the official promotional tour for their next MCU movie, Spider-Man: No Way Home. Thankfully following a first trailer that premiered in August and a full-blown fan event for the second trailer, the studios are now diving into the deep end as the movie's release date inches closer.
Of course, most of the previews and TV spots are bringing excitement for the MCU's first theatrical exploration of the Multiverse, one which will bring at least a handful of Spidey villains from the past into the Marvel Studios narrative. Combining this thrilling ride with the more emotional and personal side of Peter Parker's life will give MCU fans an absolutely jam-packed story from beginning to end.
At the center of this madness is Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Stephen Strange, who has his own relationship with Spider-Man that will hit its ups and downs in a post-Avengers: Endgame setting. However, the most recent round of TV spots has changed one important shot of Strange in action from something seen only a few days ago.
Spider-Man: No Way Home Trailer Trickery
In a recently released TV spot for Spider-Man: No Way Home, Marvel and Sony changed the background behind a previously seen shot of Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange.
The movie's second full trailer showed Strange in front of a nighttime New York City sky with the Multiverse beginning to come apart as he said "They're starting to come through, and I can't stop them:"
The most recent spot included this shot with a different setting behind Strange. This time, the Sorcerer Supreme is in front of what looks like a sunset over the NYC skyline.
The new full spot can be seen below, with the notable change occurring at the :20 mark:
Doctor Strange - Victim to Marvel Trailer Method
Marvel Studios is well-known for hiding or changing material in its trailers that looks different from the results in the final cut of its movies. Nearly every single movie and Disney+ shows have featured shots that either didn't make the movie at all or were adjusted in some form, which is part of Marvel Studios' vigilance toward keeping spoilers a secret by any means necessary.
While this doesn't happen from trailer to trailer often, this isn't the first time Marvel has employed this tactic seen in the most recent Spider-Man: No Way Home TV spot.
With this scene changed from the second full trailer, fans are now questioning whether the entire scene with the Multiverse breaking could be at a different time of day. Working in Sony and Marvel's favor, though, is the fact that the shot of Doctor Strange is zoomed in so close to his face that it makes it difficult to decipher any details from when or where this could be in the movie.
Interestingly, the second trailer also has a shot of Peter and MJ sharing a kiss with lighting similar to that behind Strange in this teaser.
This could be one of the couple's last moments before the world forgets about Peter Parker being Spider-Man, although it's hard to tell how those two scenes tie into each other should that be the case.
No matter what the details turn out to be, Marvel and Sony are pulling out all the stops to make sure this movie's Spider-Man and Doctor Strange spoilers remain just that over the next few weeks. There will likely be more than one example of shots like this changed for the final cut of Spider-Man: No Way Home, and fans will be on the lookout to see exactly what those changes turn out to be.
Spider-Man: No Way Home will debut in theaters on December 17, 2021.
