Spider-Man: No Way Home: could MJ remember Peter alone?

Spider-Man: No Way Home has one of the most impactful endings I think we've had in a comic book movie since the snap dusted half of all life in the universe. But one line in the shooting script, which Deadline released in full, makes me think MJ could eventually remember Peter Parker on her own, without him ever telling her.

The film (2021), starring Tom Holland, Zendaya and Benedict Cumberbatch, ends with Peter taken from the memories of everyone who ever met him. Where the snap removed people from reality, this leaves Peter completely alone in the world, with no semblance of a normal life. He promised to remind MJ and Ned who he was, then decided against it. Having gone through the script, I think the final scene means something more hopeful than it first appears.

How Doctor Strange's spell works on everyone who knew Peter Parker

The film builds to reality tearing open as people from every universe start coming into the MCU. Amongst the skyline you can catch villains like Kraven the Hunter and the Scorpion. Realizing they're all coming because they know Peter Parker is Spider-Man, Peter asks Strange to cast a new spell that goes far beyond the one from earlier in the film.

To me, the spell is very much a form of hypnotism. It puts a block on someone's memory so that when they try to recall something, they can't. Memory is a funny thing. In the 1990s everyone forgot about Dre, but then the song Forgot About Dre came along and we all started to remember him. In the same way, you can remember writing a school paper without being able to say exactly what you wrote.

That's how people now remember Peter. If he interacted with them, they'll somewhat remember being at that location and around him, but not him specifically. He's the support act for the band you saw when you were 13: you remember it happening but can't name them or any of their songs. Peter is a blur, a fog that no one really remembers.

Why MJ holds on to the Black Dahlia necklace and Happy doesn't know Peter

This is why MJ still has the Black Dahlia necklace in the final scene and why she's holding on to it. She knows it's important to her and that it means a lot, but she can't put her finger on exactly why. She knows it's special.

Across the board, people no longer recognize Peter. You see it with Happy Hogan, who meets Peter at Aunt May's grave. Even though the pair spent a lot of time together, Happy doesn't remember that Peter is connected to May. It also makes you wonder who paid for May's funeral and grave. Maybe Peter saw the bill and decided to make everyone forget he ever existed.

In real life there's a condition called prosopagnosia, or facial blindness. It normally affects people from birth, though it can develop after a head injury, and it stops those affected from recognizing faces. It can have a massive impact on building relationships. It's tragic not to recognize the ones you love, and those on the other end feel distant too. That's very similar to what the spell has done to the world and to MJ, hypnotizing them all.

The script line on page 178 that suggests MJ could break the spell

Like all hypnosis, it's possible to snap out of it, and there's a line in the script that hints at MJ potentially doing this of her own accord. On page 178, a section talks about MJ having a slight sense of deja vu, and this is expanded on the next page.

Their last meeting in the donut shop is full of purpose. Peter goes in to tell MJ everything about them, but decides not to after seeing the cut on her head. Much like the resolution of the first Spider-Man movie, Peter has realized those closest to him will always be put in danger because of the life he leads. So he leaves with only his coffee. But after he introduces himself and talks about Ned and the pair getting into MIT, the script says she has a "faint sense of recognition."

Coupled with the deja vu line, I do think MJ will eventually remember him and break the spell herself. In the comics, the love between Peter and MJ was so powerful that Mephisto himself wanted to steal it away, so in the MCU I think the pair would have the connection to break any form of hypnosis. I don't think Peter would ever put her in danger again. He could tell her at any point, but he never will; the power and the responsibility that comes with it is too much to pull her into. From a narrative point of view, I think it has to be her who ends up remembering him.

Could Happy Hogan and the Avengers remember Peter too

If MJ is likely the one who breaks the spell, you have to wonder how far this extends beyond her. The deja vu is clearly set off by encountering Peter, so could Happy get an inkling of it as well? He doesn't properly introduce himself to Happy the way he does with MJ, but perhaps if they met again at the grave, Happy could remember him over time.

That could extend to the Avengers and anyone Peter has come across in his whole life, including Doctor Strange. I'm interested to see where things go. At the time, my own thinking was that we wouldn't see MJ and Ned in the next film. They're heading to MIT in Boston along with Flash Thompson, and with Peter studying for his GED, I thought he'd remain in the city. That could set up him bumping into the MCU's Gwen Stacy and getting the symbiote, which was teased at the end of the film.

The old man in the donut shop was meant to evoke Stan Lee

I love this scene, and the script's added notes help flesh out the entire feeling of it. One note says the old man in the shop is supposed to be a Stan Lee lookalike, which I think adds a lot. When the film first came out, many people wondered who he was, and there was debate over whether it was an intended Stan Lee cameo. Because of the script, we now know it was in some ways supposed to give us that feeling.

On a deeper level, we look at this actor and get memories of Stan even though it isn't him. Audiences might stare at him trying to work out where they know him from, because he evokes the gray comic book writer. That's how MJ feels about Peter. She's trying to figure out where she recognizes this person from and why he brings back memories. It's a great little touch, and it elevates the ending even more.

The final swing is about freedom, not only tragedy

The last paragraph of the script adds more context to that final swing. I initially thought the ending was incredibly tragic, but the notes point out that Peter now has a new sense of freedom. Rather than juggling two lives at once, he can be liberated, knowing Spider-Man lives on even if Peter Parker is no more. He no longer has to worry about those around him getting in danger, and he can embrace his destiny as your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

There's a possibility Black Cat could be pulled into this too. Looking at the comics, I think she'd be the perfect love interest to bring into the series. Felicia was always more in love with Spider-Man than she was with Peter, and with him erased, that would be a great direction to take things.

One final note says "the suit is new for him but reminiscent of the ones he's seen before." After meeting Tobey's and Andrew's versions, Peter has bridged the gap between them and created his own suit that pulls parts of theirs. We only get little glimpses of it, but I think the new suit looks incredible and is perfectly in line with how he is in the comics. Read with these notes, the script is packed with extra detail that makes the experience of that ending even better.