How Spider-Man: No Way Home Could Introduce Miles Morales

The first trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home finally made its debut this week, and fans are still reeling from all of the ways it could potentially impact the Spider-Man mythos on the big screen. The trailer finally confirmed that the film will be dipping into the multiverse, with the return of villains from both the Tobey Maguire-led Spider-Man movies and the Andrew Garfield-led Spider-Man movies. While we still have yet to get official confirmation as to whether or not Maguire and Garfield will appear in the film, fans are already excited about the ramifications of their universes being revisited. In the process, one theory has begun to come to light — could No Way Home help usher in the debut of Miles Morales' Spider-Man?

In the comics, Miles originally got his start as the Spider-Man of the alternate Ultimate Marvel continuity, who took on the mantle following the death of Peter Parker. Eventually, as the character grew successful and the Ultimate imprint was brought to a close, Miles was introduced into the main Earth-616 continuity, where he remains to this day. Just a few years later, the MCU provided its first reference to Miles, with Aaron Davis (Donald Glover) mentioning that he has a nephew during a run-in with Holland's Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Admittedly, there have been no shortage of theories for how this Miles could end up suiting up in the MCU, especially ones that consider aging him up with the help of "The Blip." But some wrinkles in that hypothetical have remained — particularly, the dynamic between Miles and Peter, as they would end up being contemporaries who are close in age instead of the mentor/mentee situation they often have in the comics. (Think of it like, as John Mulaney puts it, "hiring a horse to watch your dog.") But now that we definitively know No Way Home is going to tackle the multiverse, it seems like the best opportunity yet to acknowledge or reference Miles in some way, outside of just confirming that a young version of him exists in Holland's Spider-Man universe.

Miles could show up within the multiverse in any number of ways, down to bringing the animated version of him from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse into live-action. But one way that could pay off — while being infinitely satisfying to fans — could be to have Miles originate from the universes of either Maguire or Garfield's takes on Spider-Man. If both actors do end up appearing in No Way Home, and realistically perform some sort of heroic act in the multiversal fight that ensues, word of that could easily spread to a young Miles Morales, and motivate him to take on the mantle in his stead.

This also could give Marvel Studios an opportunity to make a Miles Morales movie that is unconcerned with main MCU continuity, allowing for different versions of characters and concepts that we already know and love. This could simply range from placing Glover's Aaron Davis in a comic-accurate Prowler costume, or reinventing characters that already exist in the main MCU. Depending on which universe Miles hails from, it could also create an opportunity to revisit or further explore the established lore of those films — particularly the "Raimiverse" of Maguire's films, which are still regarded by many to be among the pinnacle of comic book movies. Plus, having both Miles and Peter exist in separate universes could culminate in an epic crossover, once something like a Secret Wars movie rolls around.

Do you think Miles Morales could be introduced or referenced in Spider-Man: No Way Home? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Spider-Man: No Way Home is set to be released in theaters on December 17th.