Spider-Man: No Way Home ending explained: Who dies in MCU spectacular?

Peter turns to the sorcerer Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for assistance in undoing the damage, but further disaster soon strikes as this interference in the sorcery opens up his universe to threats from villains across the multiverse.

Peter finds himself facing off against some of his biggest enemies from across the multiverse, including the likes of Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), Electro (Jamie Foxx), The Lizard (Rhys Ifans), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), and Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe). But can the beloved superhero solve his problems and save the ones he loves?

The film also features Benedict Wong as Wong, Tony Revolori as Eugene "Flash" Thompson, and J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson.

For everything you need to know about the Spider-Man No Way Home ending scenes including who dies, and how the film crescendos into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, read on. But be warned, from this point on there are spoilers galore.

Meanwhile, you can find all you need to know about the Spider-Man: No Way Home end credits scenes, as well as a full spoiler-updated cast page.

Alternatively, if you are keen to watch the Spider-Man movies in order, see our explainer here, or read our guide to streaming No Way Home.

**Final warning for spoilers about Spider-Man: No Way Home**

Spider-Man: No Way Home ending explained

Who was coming through the rift at the end of No Way Home?

Earlier in the film, a botched spell by Doctor Strange that was intended to restore Peter Parker's old life instead attracted villains from across the multiverse who are all aware of his secret identity.

That includes Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), Electro (Jamie Foxx), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) and Lizard (Rhys Ifans), with Peter making it his mission to save them all from their dark fates.

In doing so, he had to cross Doctor Strange, temporarily trapping him in the trippy mirror dimension to stop him from casting a spell that would doom his rivals to a grisly end in their respective home universes.

However, this delay in repairing the damage caused by the spell has consequences, as a colossal rift opens up across the multiverse that threatens to end the world as we know it.

We see various obscured figures preparing to make their way through the rift in the ending scene, many of whom are quite hard to make out during the passing glance we were given in the cinema.

One that does seem fairly easy to identify is a silhouette of the giant mechanised version of Rhino featured in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, played there by actor Paul Giamatti.

This implies that all manner of dangerous villains would have been allowed into the MCU by this rift, some even from retired Marvel franchises, which would have thrown the world into utter chaos.

What happens to the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield versions of Spider-Man?

At the end of the film, the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield iterations of Spider-Man are returned to their respective universes thanks to Doctor Strange's spell.

Having helped Tom Holland's Peter realise that taking revenge on Green Goblin/Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe) for the death of Aunt May wouldn't fix anything and bring her back - a lesson Tobey's Spidey learned when he contributed to the death of the man he thought had killed his Uncle Ben Parker - Tobey's Peter went home after a successful mission and with reformed versions of Norman Osborn, Doctor Octopus/Otto Octavius, and Sandman/Flint Marko.

Earlier in the film, Tobey's Peter had revealed he had achieved happiness with Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) after the death of Harry Osborn (James Franco) in Spider-Man 3.

Meanwhile, Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker was in a dark place following the death of his true love Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Thankfully, helping Tom Holland's Peter to save MJ (Zendaya) from death in a similar manner to how he lost Gwen and helping to find redemption for Electro/Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx) and Lizard/Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), Garfield's Peter returned to his universe in a much better place.

Here's hoping this is not the last we see of these Spider-Men!

Mind you, perhaps there is the potential for a crossover between Garfield's Peter and Venom in the future.

Do MJ, Happy Hogan, Ned and others forget Peter Parker?

In order to prevent imminent disaster, Peter Parker makes the noble sacrifice of agreeing to a spell that would make everyone in the MCU forget who he is.

It's important to note the wording of this second spell, as while the first attempted to make the world forget who Spider-Man is, the correcting incantation specifies forgetting Peter Parker altogether.

That means that while his secret identity is once again safe, everyone in his personal life – including girlfriend MJ, best pal Ned, and fond ally Happy Hogan – will now have no idea who he is.

This is demonstrated later when Peter drops by the coffee shop where MJ works and is saddened to realise that neither she or Ned remember who he is.

He goes back on a plan to try to make them remember after seeing that their lives have been course-corrected just as he'd wanted, with both securing places to study at prestigious university MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

Likewise, Happy has no recollection of who Peter is, despite remembering his late Aunt May.

Who dies in Spider-Man: No Way Home?

Tragically, Spider-Man: No Way Home sees the death of Peter's beloved legal guardian Aunt May Parker (Marisa Tomei), who is mortally wounded during an attack by the evil Green Goblin.

She is struck by the villain's sharp-edged hovering speeder, which will have rung alarm bells in the heads of many longtime fans, as Norman Osborn himself was killed after a similar impact in 2002's original Spider-Man film.

Peter feels that May's death is his fault as he had insisted on trying to save the multiversal villains, rather than sending them back immediately as Doctor Strange had intended.

In this sense, May's death in this film echoes the loss of Uncle Ben in Spider-Man's classic comic book origin story, another devastating event that he considers himself responsible for.

However, in her dying breath, May reminds Peter that "with great power comes great responsibility", in an attempt to make it clear that she would not have wanted him to do anything differently.

New Spider-Man suit

In the final scene of Spider-Man: No Way Home, it becomes clear that everyone in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has no idea who Peter Parker or Spider-Man are, not only is he a stranger to his loved ones but he is also no longer a member of the Avengers.

Instead, Peter focuses on his local community and goes back to being a "friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man" after paying a visit to his aunt May Parker's grave and being inspired by the epitaph on her gravestone: "When you help someone, you help everyone."

Ditching the high-tech gadgetry of his suits from the recent films, we end on Peter donning a classic homemade-style Spider-Man costume similar to the ones worn by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's iterations.

Spider-Man is here to stay, whatever happens!

What will happen in Spider-Man 4?

Much like 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home, this latest adventure has left Tom Holland's web-slinging hero in quite the unenviable bind.

With no one in the MCU remembering who he is – from loved ones to his Avengers teammates – he has no choice but to strike out on his own, managing to secure a small apartment in New York City.

It seems likely that the next Spider-Man film, which has already been promised by producer Amy Pascal, will see Peter attempt to restore the memories of the trusted few people he wanted to know about his double life.

Alternatively, Peter may find himself further supporting characters to grow close to, perhaps with new iterations of Harry Osborn or Gwen Stacy.

Somehow we doubt we have seen the last of MJ or Ned, however.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed that Sony and Marvel were actively developing Spider-Man 4 with producer Amy Pascal in an interview with the New York Times.

In addition, the Spider-Man: No Way Home end credits scenes also tease that we could see an MCU version of Venom appear in Holland's next outing, which would be entirely separate from Tom Hardy's solo franchise.

The possibilities remain endless with the MCU iteration of Spidey.

Will Andrew Garfield return as Spider-Man?

Well, while a return for him has yet to be confirmed, Andrew Garfield is certainly keen on a comeback.

Speaking to Variety about a potential comeback, Garfield commented: "I mean, yes, definitely open to something if it felt right. Peter and Spider-Man, those characters are all about service, to the greater good and the many.

"He’s a working-class boy from Queens that knows struggle and loss and is deeply empathetic.

"I would try to borrow Peter Parker’s ethical framework in that, if there was an opportunity to step back in and tell more of that story, I would have to feel very sure and certain in myself."

Read more:

• Spider-Man: No Way Home review – "The best superhero movie in recent years"
• New Doctor Strange detail revealed in Spider-Man: No Way Home
• Spider-Man: No Way Home - Best Easter eggs and cameos in new MCU film
• Spider-Man: No Way Home includes major reference to Miles Morales
• What's next for Daredevil as the Man without Fear is restored in the MCU?

Spider-Man: No Way Home is in UK cinemas now. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.

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