Mysterio will be back in the MCU in this unexpected project

When talking about iconic Spider-Man villains, it's impossible not to mention Mysterio. The Master of Illusions made his live-action debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe during the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home. Unfortunately, he met his demise during the same movie after being shot by Stark Industries' combat drones... or at least, that's what it seemed like. See, Spidey himself wasn't sure if Quentin Beck was really gone, so just to make sure he asked E.D.I.T.H: "Is he... is this real?" to which the A.I. responded: "All illusions are down, Peter".

Since the question "Is he dead?" wasn't really answered, fans theorized maybe Quentin survived and Peter wasn't seeing a holograph, but just a man playing dead (something that wouldn't have been an "illusion" per se). Furthermore, Mysterio's programmers still have all the assets necessary to bring the supervillain back to life - even if just as an empty hologram. All signs indicated we'd see more of him in the MCU, and we were partially right. See, Mysterio is coming back all right, just not in the project we anticipated.

What If...? Season 3 will feature Mysterio

Marvel released a trailer for the third and last season of What If...? which is slated to come on December 22. There's plenty to unpack, such as Mutants finally debuting on the animated series and White Vision entering the picture as well. However, at the one minute and 38 seconds mark, there's a very unexpected moment that shows Spider-Man characters will be back in the show after being missing during Season 2. And wouldn't you know it, but it's all thanks to Quentin Beck himself.

Mysterio appears sitting on a "throne" with multiple wires attached. It wouldn't be too far-fetched to assume he's using the device to power his world-famous illusions. After all, moments earlier in the trailer (at the 1:34 mark), we see three particularily evil-looking Watchers appear out of nowhere inside a facility. There's something off about them and the small space they appear in - even though they are giant beings. Maybe they're just projections powered by the Master of Illusions himself.

Mysterio's appearance also raises the question of whether or not other Spider-Man characters—including the wall-crawler himself—will be in What If...? Season 3. Sony has the rights to the friendly neighborhood hero and his rogues gallery, which more often than not makes it complicated for any of them to appear in other Marvel projects. However, now that we know Mysterio will show up, chances are Disney and Sony were able to strike a deal. So it wouldn't be too far-fetched to assume Peter Parker himself could also steal the small screen. After all, was present during the events of Season 1, and just missed out on Season 2 due to his potential storyline being too dark for a PG-13 animated series.

It's a shame to know What If...? will be ending after just eight more episodes. It could tell an infinite number of stories—even one about the highly anticipated Spider-Man 4. However, let's hope the series goes out with a bang, and it features our friendly neighborhood hero even if it's just for one small sequence.

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