Editor’s Note: The following review has spoilers for “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”

While slightly off-beat from the MCU’s formula, the latest Spider-Man movie has garnered much critical and commercial success since its release last December. Earning a whopping $600 million in the box office during its opening weekend, “Spiderman: No Way Home” proved to exceed fan expectations and astonish its audiences as a gripping addition to the MCU franchise.

After the public unveiling of Peter Parker (Tom Holland) as Spider-Man, the web-slinger is unable to separate his personal life from his superhero alter-ego. Dealing with the consequences of having both of his lives intertwined, he seeks help from Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). The stakes become multi-dimensional as Peter has to face adversity and come to terms with the sacrifices Spider-Man has to make.

“No Way Home” establishes a new precedent for superhero movies as multi-studio projects become more mainstream than ever. Audiences and critics were shocked alike as they witnessed Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield reprise their roles as their friendly neighborhood alter-egos. Fans of Marvel Television’s Netflix series “Daredevil” were also ecstatic to see Charlie Cox reprising his role, this time taking a step into the official MCU. Overall, Spidey fans were able to take a breath of fresh air as Marvel pressed the reset button with the character and returned it to the originally envisioned Spider-Man of comic book creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

The elephant in the room, and probably a high contender for best indirect marketing, is indisputably the appearance of Maguire and Garfield in the third installment of Holland’s Spider-Man, which leaves more questions than answers for the future of the MCU. After everyone’s spoonful of nostalgia wore off, the question lies: Will we see them again? Even though there is no concrete answer from the studio, there is major speculation circulating online, especially after the official trailer for another Sony-Marvel collaboration “Morbius” recently premiered.

The new realm of possibilities has surely convinced fans that they are listening, as shown by the introduction of Charlie Cox into the MCU for example. I personally believe that the best surprise from “No Way Home” was undoubtedly pressing the reset button on the character. Rarely do fans think that Marvel head Kevin Feige and his cinematic empire listen to their cries, but the latest Spider-Man movie is proof that they are actively hearing fan complaints. Many of them stemmed from the deviation from the source material when it came to integral personality traits, as well as the overall compendium of 20 years of films which Holland’s Spider-Man was burdened with as soon as he first debuted in 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War.” The reset button has been pressed in “No Way Home” and fans are finally ecstatic to see a fresh and friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

The new addition to Holland’s Spider-Man trilogy proves to break the Marvel mold. While audiences and critics alike have been growing weary of quick quips being exchanged for character development and plot sophistication, “No Way Home” pivots that notion for a more emotional grip that many found welcoming. These changes and alterations are mainly thanks to longtime producer Amy Pascal’s work with the character on the big screen. Love her or hate her, her passion for her work involving Spidey is undeniable. Pascal has even gone as far as to allegedly throw a sandwich at Feige during the first Marvel production pitch for the character. True or not, her tenacity for accurately representing the character is unquestionably noble.

Many Spidey fans also welcome the collaboration between Marvel and Pascal as a sigh of “anti-Avi Arad” relief in reference to the notorious executive producer, who allegedly orchestrated the demise of Garfield’s Spider-Man series and Maguire’s “Spider-Man 3” (2007). They find him responsible for the films’ more controversial attributes, like the half-baked inclusion of Venom and the premature discontinuation of Garfield’s Spider-Man movies. Regardless, the separation of Arad and Spider-Man gives fans a much-needed break, knowing that whatever is to come is a refreshing take on the beloved character.

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” left critics and fans alike satisfied with a soul-filled nostalgia-packed marvel. Though the future of the character is uncertain, we can say for sure that we are going to witness the rise of a new, amazing Spider-Man.

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” is now showing exclusively in theaters until July 2023.