Spider-Man: No Way Home's Script Hints At A Flaw In Doctor Strange’s Spell
With the script for Spider-Man: No Way Home now out to the public, the true extent of Doctor Strange's memory spell may have become clearer. One of Marvel's most ambitious films yet, Spider-Man: No Way Home saw Peter Parker face the dangers of the Multiverse in a story that has redefined Tom Holland's version of the character. By looking at the film's screenplay, it is possible to find answers to the questions left by the movie and get a better idea of what the writers had planned for key No Way Home scenes.
No Way Home's bittersweet ending saw Spider-Man sacrificing everything and everyone he loved to save the world. The heroic act caused the entire planet to forget the existence of Peter Parker and set up the character to a new, lonelier chapter of his life. While the consequences of No Way Home’s ending seemed to be pretty final, the exchange of looks between Tom Holland and Zendaya at the end of the film had left a sliver of hope that MJ could still remember something about Peter. If that was the case for MJ, then it could also happen to other characters.
MJ's reaction to seeing Peter Parker at the end of No Way Home is described in the screenplay with the phrase "a flicker of déjà vu on her face". This confirms that the writers of the film conceived Doctor Strange's memory spell as having some sort of limitation. Although the coffee shop scene proves that MJ no longer remembers Peter Parker, seeing him again may have briefly triggered some of her memories of them together. Such an idea being integrated into the script suggests that there may be plans of partially retconning the end of No Way Home (at least regarding essential characters such as MJ) later in the next trilogy.
Although it would not be wise for the next Spider-Man film to undermine the events of No Way Home right from the start, there has to be a way for Peter Parker and MJ to reconnect at some point later in the series. Whatever solution the next trilogy finds for it, it could also mean that other characters such as Doctor Strange and some of the Avengers could also remember Peter depending on what the story calls for. In any case, how the final moments of No Way Home are described on the page already sets a precedent for a future retcon.
Doctor Strange's second memory spell represented both an ending and a new beginning for Spider-Man, but the film's screenplay proves that the consequences of Peter's sacrifice may not be everlasting. As No Way Home's bold premise has led to a movie that delivers both spectacle and character development, it is up for the next MCU's Spider-Man trilogy to continue that progression. While that can happen without the need of revisiting elements from No Way Home, there will always be the possibility of small retcons that could serve the next stories.