We still can't say for sure whether the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Peter Parker will receive backup from a couple of familiar Variants in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but he is going to have some help from Doctor Strange. When Benedict Cumberbatch was first revealed as part of the cast, the Sorcerer Supreme was described as a "mentor" to the wall-crawler.
This elicited a lot of groans from fans who were relieved that Spidey would no longer be looking up to Iron Man in that way, but during an interview with Games Radar, Tom Holland made it clear that what we see in this movie is going to be a "very different relationship [from Tony Stark and Peter Peter]."
"I wouldn’t consider Doctor Strange as a mentor in this film – it’s more as a colleague. At this point in the films, Spider-Man has established himself as quite a powerful and serious Avenger," the actor explains. "Doctor Strange sees that in him, and treats him like an equal. And throughout the course of the film, their relationship breaks down. And rather than becoming colleagues – they don’t become enemies, but they’re definitely not friends."
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Holland adds, "Spider-Man always wants to please everyone. He always wants everyone to be happy. And then, in this instance, that’s not the case. It’s an interesting relationship. It’s very, very different from the one of Tony and Peter. But it’s a fun one. Spider-Man and Doctor Strange are a great mix. They look great onscreen. The balance between them is very funny."
While Strange is clearly happy to help Peter with his identity crisis, we know something goes wrong as the two heroes end up fighting their way across New York and into the Mirror Dimension! There are rumours out there about what leads to this falling out, but seeing this relationship devolve could bring us another step closer to the Spidey from the comics who is alienated from his fellow heroes.
Spider-Man: No Way Home swings into theaters on December 17.