Two More Legacy Villains Are Confirmed To Appear In Spider-Man: No Way Home

"Spider-Man: No Way Home" might be this year's most buzzed-about film. On the heels of the Marvel Disney+ series "Loki," the upcoming Marvel Studios-Sony Pictures movie is another exploration of the ever-expanding multiverse. Peter Parker's (Tom Holland) wish for anonymity leads him to Doctor Strange's (Benedict Cumberbatch) doorstep. Things go awry after he messes with Doctor Strange's spell, which leads to the opening of the multiverse. Suddenly, Peter finds himself in a world unlike any he ever experienced (and remember, this kid's been to space) filled with villains he's never met before.

With the Spider-verse officially making its way into the MCU, rumors have been flying about Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield reprising their roles as the different versions of the web-slinger. While their appearances in the film are not official, we do know at least one multiversal villain will appear in the film: Alfred Molina's Doc Ock, first introduced in Sam Raimi's 2004 film "Spider-Man 2." The "No Way Home" teaser trailer also features the unmistakable laugh of Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin, heavily suggesting he'll be in the film as well.

It's been speculated that other classic Spider-Man enemies will be making their way into the MCU, teasing the likelihood Holland's Peter Parker will suit up to battle the iconic comic book foes the Sinister Six. Now, some observant fans have found evidence that two more legacy villains will be in "No Way Home."

Empire magazine's December 2021 issue is all about "Spider-Man: No Way Home." With the print version finally on newsstands, eager fans now have more insight into the upcoming film. As reported by Everything Comic Book Movies on Twitter, the Empire feature mentions the inclusion of both the Sandman and The Lizard, two more members of the Sinister Six. In the first of four photos of pages from the magazine, we can see a brief snippet from the article about the new movie. It reads, "Worlds which include Rhys Ifans' The Lizard, and Thomas Haden Church's Sandman, and Jamie —" before the photo cuts off. (One might guess the article was about to name-drop Jamie Foxx's "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" character, Electro.)

Haden Church first played the Sandman against Tobey Maguire's Spidey in "Spider-Man 3" (via IMDb), and Rhys Ifans portrayed The Lizard battling against Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker in "The Amazing Spider-Man" (via IMDb). With Foxx all but confirmed to reappear as Electro and Michael Keaton's Vulture already in the MCU Spider-verse, it seems likely that a Sinister Six situation will be playing out on our screens.

Of course, we'll take all of this news with a grain of salt. Nothing is official until it is confirmed by Sony or Marvel through a statement or promotional materials. However, it seems the cast list of "No Way Home" is gearing up to be Hollywood's worst kept secret. We can't wait until December 17 to see all these iconic characters on the big screen together.