Disclaimer: This article contains some major spoilers from the film.

We’ll run you through what Spider-Man and Marvel movies and shows you need to watch to understand Spider-Man: No Way Home better.

1. The original Spider-Man trilogy

If you haven’t watched the original trilogy, chances are that you wouldn’t recognise the villains from the multiverse that appear in the film –  Dr. Norman Osborn (Green Goblin), Dr. Otto Octavius (Doctor Octopus) and Flint Marko (Sandman).

When Doctor Octavius first appears in Spiderman: No Way Home, he calls out Peter’s name and once Peter unmasks himself, he says, “You’re not Peter Parker.” If you haven’t watched the original trilogy you will not get this.

The trilogy stars Tobey Maguire as the Spider-Man and it was here that the dialogue “With great power comes great responsibility” was spoken by his uncle Ben in the first film.  

You can watch all three movies on SonyLiv.

2. The Amazing Spider-Man 1 & 2 

Andrew Garfield’s version of Spider-Man, this film is a must-watch otherwise you won’t get the backstories of villains such as Electro, and Dr. Curt Connors (Lizard).

You can watch both the movies on Netflix.

3. Spider-Man: Homecoming

It is absolutely essential to have watched Spider-Man: Homecoming since this forms the basis of Tom Holland’s character as Peter Parker or Spider-Man. You won’t recognise who MJ and Ned are if you haven’t watched this film.

You can watch it on Netflix.

4. Spider-Man: Far From Home

This movie came right after Endgame. While it is mainly about Mysterio and his fake multiverse threat, the end sequence of the film is crucial to understand the context in which Spider-Man: No Way Home is set. After Mysterio reveals Spider-Man’s identity, Peter goes to Dr. Strange for help.

You can watch it on Netflix.

5. Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange and his magic forms a major part of Spider-Man: No Way Home, so you need to be aware of his character too. Watching Doctor Strange will make it easy for you to understand his spells and the film.

You can watch it on Hotstar.

6. Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage

The mid-credit scene introduces Tom Hardy’s Venom into the MCU. It shows Eddie Brock in a bar, in conversation with a bartender. The conversation revolves around Iron Man, Thanos and the blip. But before Eddie can pay for his drink, he vanishes, signalling that Doctor Strange completed his spell to make people forget Peter Parker.

You need to watch Venom: Let There Be Carnage, to be able to make sense of this scene. It’s post-credit scene had implied that Venom had somehow crossed over to the MCU.

You can watch Venom on Netflix but Venon: Let There Be Carnage isn’t available to watch on OTT yet.

7. WandaVision

The post-credits scene is actually a full-length trailer for Doctor Strange and The Multiverse of Madness. It shows how Doctor Strange’s spell in Spider-Man: No Way Home has fractured the multiverse and he approaches Wanda for help. Their conversation refers to Westview, the town Wanda called home in WandaVision.

You can watch it on Hotstar.

8. What If…?

In the post-credits scene trailer, we also get to see Doctor Strange’s evil twin, Strange Supreme, who is first introduced in the series What If…? In one of the episodes titled ‘What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?’, Doctor Strange becomes obsessed with preventing the death of his girlfriend, and plays immutable laws of nature that ultimately resulted the destruction of his universe.

You can watch it on Hotstar.

9. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

At one point in the movie, Electro says, “There’s gotta be a black spiderman out there somewhere” This was a reference to Miles Morales, the star of the animated feature film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Miles Morales was also vaguely referenced in the first Spider-Man movie.

Oh and also, Matt Murdock (Daredevil) makes his theatrical MCU debut in No Way Home. He steps in as a lawyer to handle the legal challenges faced by Peter Parker and his family following his identity revelation.

So, if you didn’t make noise in the theatre when he appeared, go watch Daredevil also.