In the film, Parker asks Dr. Stephen Strange (Cumberbatch) to use magic to make his identity as Spider-Man a secret again after it was revealed to the world at the end of Far From Home.

As Norman Osborn arrives and attacks, Strange teleports Peter back to the Sanctum and locks Octavius in a cell next to Curt Connors.

He orders Peter, MJ, and Ned to find and capture the others; they locate and retrieve Max Dillon and Flint Marko at a military research facility.

Rhys Ifans reprises his role as Dr. Curt Connors / Lizard, an Oscorp scientist from Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) who transformed into a large reptilian monster while trying to regrow his missing arm.

Thomas Haden Church reprises his role as Flint Marko / Sandman, a small-time thief from Raimi's Spider-Man 3 who received an ability to transform into sand.

B. Smoove as Julius Dell, Parker's teacher;[46] J. K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, the host of The Daily Bugle;[47][48] and Gary Weeks as Department of Damage Control (DODC) agent Foster.

[50] Also appearing in the film are Paula Newsome as an MIT administrator,[45] Arian Moayed as DODC agent Cleary,[50] Mary Rivera as Ned's grandmother,[45] and Cristo Fernández as a bartender serving Brock.

The duo worked hard to prevent the film from just being "a bunch of fan service" by using the returning characters to help tell Peter Parker's story instead of just creating "curtain calls for everybody".

[73] Second unit filming occurred from October 14 to 16, 2020, in New York City,[79][80][81] under the working title Serenity Now,[82][80] to capture visual effects plates and establishing shots.

[121] Sony Pictures Group President Sanford Panitch acknowledged in May that there had been confusion and frustration from fans regarding the relationship between the SSU and the MCU but stated that there was a plan to clarify this.

[130] Concept art of Doctor Octopus for No Way Home revealed that in addition to his original outfit from Spider-Man 2, there were plans for the character to wear a green-and-yellow comics-accurate costume in the film, but the idea was scrapped.

[137] Pascal described No Way Home as "the culmination of the Homecoming trilogy",[138] and Arian Moayed revealed that he had a role in the film,[139] playing Department of Damage Control (DODC) agent Cleary.

He also compared the stills to the "terrifying/awe-inspiring wonder" of Steven Spielberg films and The Goonies (1985),[158] while Germain Lussier from io9 said they gave off "subtle National Treasure, Indiana Jones vibes".

[47][123][170] Vinnie Mancuso at Collider was excited to see the return of Molina and the potential for Dafoe's involvement, but called it a "cheap pop" since it was doing "a disservice to the stories you're trying to tell in the present by reminding the audience how much better things used to be".

[176][177] On November 24, Sony began releasing several videos on TikTok as part of their The Daily Bugle viral marketing campaign featuring Simmons and Rice.

[180] Other marketing partners include the video games Fortnite and PUBG Mobile, which featured special in-game Spider-Man themed props and costumes, Asus, whose Republic of Gamers (ROG) laptop is used by Ned in the film, Xiaomi, iQOO, Continental AG, and Tampico Beverages.

[198] The More Fun Stuff Version was released in theaters beginning August 31, 2022, in Indonesia, followed by the United States and Canada, among other countries, on September 1, and later in a number of other markets through October 6.

[201] ComicBook.com's Russ Burlingame said the poster was what "we've all been waiting for" and "a big change in the way [Sony] initially promoted the movie" since they "continued to play coy" on the cameos after the film had released.

[234] No Way Home earned $43.6 million from 15 markets on its opening day, with Sony holding the best opening-day record in South Korea, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Italy, and Taiwan.

[242] No Way Home had the second-highest one-day ticket sales on AMC, with CEO Adam Aron attributing this to Spider-Man-themed non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

The site's critical consensus reads: "A bigger, bolder Spider-Man sequel, No Way Home expands the franchise's scope and stakes without losing sight of its humor and heart.

[224] Amelia Emberwing of IGN gave the film 8 out of 10, stating that its "impact on the universe as a whole, as well as the overall emotional beats, all feel earned" while praising the performances of Dafoe, Molina, and Foxx.

[246] Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood praised Watts's direction and wrote, "Holland, Zendaya, and Batalon are a priceless trio, and the various villains and 'others' who pop in and out make this pure movie fun of the highest order.

[247] Peter Debruge of Variety praised Garfield's and Maguire's performances and felt the film "provides enough resolution for the past two decades of Spider-Man adventures that audiences who've tuned out along the way will be rewarded for giving this one a shot".

[33] Writing for Den of Geek, Don Kaye gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, for its action sequences, performances and chemistry of the cast, stating that "No Way Home channels the entire spectrum of Spider-Man movies while setting the character on a course all his own at last".

[248] Jennifer Bisset of CNET praised the action sequences, performances, and story, writing: "A Russo Brothers influence can almost be felt ushering Holland's third Spider-Man movie into new, weightier territory.

[249] Kevin Maher of The Times gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, saying that it was "As satisfying to watch as it is perilous to discuss", and described it as "a dynamite blast of smarty-pants postmodernism that never once abandons its emotional core.

"[250] Benjamin Lee of The Guardian gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, praising Watts for "bringing back numerous baddies from the previous Spider-Man universes, delivering a propulsive, slickly choreographed adventure that will appease a broad fanbase this Christmas" but feeling that the script "lacks the expected fizz, that sense of shaggy fun struggling to break through a more robotic plot".

[252] The Hollywood Reporter's John DeFore felt that the inclusion of "multiversal mayhem" addressed the "Iron Man-ification of the character" that made Holland-centric films "least fun".

[272] Feige confirmed in December that he and Pascal, along with Sony and Disney, were actively beginning to develop the story for the next Spider-Man film following Parker's "momentous decision" in No Way Home.