In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter Parker turned to Doctor Strange for help after Mysterio revealed his secret identity to the world. The former Sorcerer Supreme was more than willing to lend a helping hand, only for his spell to quickly go wrong.
That was because Peter tried making a series of changes to the incantation, ensuring his friends and family would remember the fact they'd learned his identities (if MJ hadn't found out, would fate have still brought them together?).
With a host of villainous Variants subsequently pulled into Earth-616, Spidey was outmatched until he got a helping hand from his Friendly Neighbourhood and Amazing counterparts.
Despite managing to "cure" those supervillains, reality started tearing apart and Peter had to get Strange to finish the spell...with everyone forgetting the fact he, not Spider-Man, exists.
Now, a new rumour suggests Strange's spell had far-reaching consequences.
According to leaker @MyTimeToShineH, everyone on Peter #2 (Tobey Maguire) and Peter #3's (Andrew Garfield) worlds also forget them. This likely had dire consequences for them both, but particularly the former if he and Mary Jane Watson eventually got married and had children.
It's unclear when or where this plot thread will be addressed, though it could explain what brings the three Spider-Men together again. They probably won't be overly happy with the MCU's web-slinger, and we'd imagine Spider-Man 4 and Avengers: Secret Wars are the likeliest projects to pick up on the consequences of Peter #1's actions.
Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures reportedly have very different hopes for Spider-Man 4, with the former wanting to tell a grounded street-level story and the latter eager to bring the Spider-Men together again on screen. After all, Spider-Man: No Way Home became the studio's biggest movie ever in 2021 when it grossed over $1.9 billion.
"The story never ends," Garfield previously said of potentially reprising the role. "Whether we film it or not, there's a story happening in a universe somewhere, there's endless potential with this character and other iterations. So yeah, he's definitely out there doing something."
He'd later say that his Peter likely returned home "re-inspired to follow his destiny" and "incredibly reinvigorated" after learning there were others just like him out there.
As for Maguire, he's said, "I love these films and I love all of the different series. If these guys called me and said, 'Would you show up tonight to hang out and goof around?' or 'Would you show up to do this movie or read a scene or do a Spider-Man thing?', it would be a 'Yes!' Because why wouldn't I want to do that?"
Let us know your thoughts on this rumour in the comments section.