Rumor or Fact: Who’s appearing in Spider-Man: No Way Home?

Spider-Man has a lot of enemies, and there are rumors about practically all of them. We’re going to tackle this lightning-round style.

Jake Gyllenhal (Mysterio) is in Spider-Man: No Way Home — Rumor

Quentin Beck, a.k.a. Mysterio, was the villain of the last MCU Spidey film, Far From Home. Beck seemingly died at the end of that movie, but as they say, no one really dies in comic books (or their adaptations). No Way Home is already setting the precedent of bringing back previously deceased characters, like Doc Ock. Mysterio returning hardly even feels like a stretch by comparison.

However, there has been no solid evidence of this to date. Gyllenhal’s involvement is a rumor.

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Thomas Hayden Church (Sandman) is in Spider-Man: No Way Home — Rumor

First seen in Spider-Man 3, Flint Marko was a tragic villain who was trying to pull off heists to pay for treatment for his terminally ill daughter…before falling into a particle accelerator which turned him into Sandman. Though he ultimately made peace with Spider-Man by the end of that movie, there has been a lot of talk that he might appear in the new film. The Illuminerdi reported that Marvel Studios was courting Church for a return back in 2020. Jeff Sneider at Collider backed up this rumor as well.

Rhys Ifans (The Lizard) is in Spider-Man: No Way Home — Rumor

The Lizard, a.k.a. Doctor Curt Connors, was the main villain of The Amazing Spider-Man. Connors was also a mentor of Peter Parker’s during the Sam Raimi-helmed films, so this is a character the older Spidey flicks have used quite a bit. Connors was transformed into the Lizard when he tried to regenerate his lost arm by injecting himself with lizard DNA. To date, this is a total rumor, albeit another one put forth by Collider’s Jeff Sneider.

Paul Giamatti (Rhino) is in Spider-Man: No Way Home — Rumor, Denied

Another villain spread by Collider is Rhino, played by Paul Giamatti in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Rhino had a small role in the film despite Sony using him excessively in the promotional materials, and yes, I am still salty about that. Giamatti’s performance, however, was great fun. Rhino isn’t Spidey’s smartest villain, but he’s got a special place in the hearts of many fans.

However, Giamatti has denied that he is reprising the role for No Way Home. And unlike Andrew Garfield, there has been no walk back, just a silence following a statement Giamatti made during an interview to promote his Netflix film Gunpowder Milkshake. When asked about returning to the Rhino suit, the actor had this to say:

"I hadn’t followed any of [these rumors]. Somebody else just asked me about this, so I hadn’t been following. I’m okay with that. I’m certainly okay to just leave it all where it is. It’s fine with me."

Sounds pretty conclusive to me.