Why Spider-Man: No Way Home's Scooby-Doo Line Means More Than You Think

When the long-awaited second trailer dropped for Marvel's "Spider-Man: No Way Home," the internet understandably blew up. The film has been a hot topic for Marvel fans for years, as it's been long rumored that many of the previous "Spider-Man" actors would be reprising their roles. In "Far From Home," Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland, deals with the unsuspecting villain Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), only for him to release a video uncovering Spider-Man's secret identity. Peter Parker hopes to remedy this in "No Way Home" with a spell from Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), except the spell doesn't go according to plan and releases past foes from the multiverse.

The new trailer gives fans a ton of new details to theorize over until the film's release on December 17. Will MJ (Zendaya) meet the same fate as Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) from "The Amazing Spider-Man 2"? Will another villain make an appearance to complete the Sinister Six? Unfortunately, we can only speculate for now, but there's no dearth of material to talk about.

One small line from Doctor Strange may not seem as important compared to MJ possibly falling to her death — or the multiple villain appearances, for that matter — but it likely means more than you think.

In the latest trailer, we see Peter Parker (Tom Holland) enlist the help of Doctor Strange for a spell that will revert his identity back to secret status. Unfortunately, the spell goes haywire and Peter and friends are left to deal with the aftermath, which cracks open the multiverse and unleashes several "Spider-Man" foes. Doctor Strange seems to charge Peter with solving the problem, saying, "There are others out there. We need to send them back. So Scooby-Doo this crap."

As Marvel tends to make every small detail count, this could be a reference to "The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo," the seventh TV series in the "Scooby-Doo" franchise. In the series, Shaggy and Scooby are tricked into unleashing 13 powerful ghosts into the world. As the ghosts must be dealt with by the ones who originally released them, Scooby and Shaggy are tasked with rounding them up. Assisting them is a warlock named Vincent Van Ghoul, who uses his magic to help out (via Fandom).

This sounds strangely familiar to the plot of "Far From Home." Not only does Peter unknowingly unleash villains into the world, but he also enlists the help of a certain Sorcerer Supreme. It's also worth noting the uncanny resemblance between Doctor Strange and Vincent Van Ghoul. Both magic-bearers wear some form of cape, are middle-aged, and have similar slicked, grey-streaked hair. 

So is it a coincidence? We'd say probably not given Marvel's close attention to detail. Andrew Garfield confirmation, this is not — but it is a fun little Easter egg.