Marvel Studios' Spider-Man: No Way Home has generated tons of fan excitement despite little official promotion from Sony.
Particularly, the devious side of the cast list for Tom Holland's third solo outing as Peter Parker has been subject to extreme speculation. Starting with a report of Jamie Foxx's Electro from 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 making a re-appearance, the trail of characters who may or may not be showing up is one for the books. This isn't to say there haven't been confirmations, however.
Alfred Molina's Doc Ock from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 is all but set to reprise his mad scientist role in No Way Home. In that same thread, another Raimi/Spidey villain who's been talked about enough to garner near confirmation in the threequel is Willem's Dafoe's Norman Osborn aka Green Goblin.
Dafoe's return was first reported in December 2020, a mere two months after Foxx was said to appear. Since then, Dafoe has been questioned about this reprisal, to which he has done no less than avoid a straight answer.
Now, in a recent interview, Dafoe has once again faced another question about his to-be or not-to-be appearance in No Way Home.
WILLEM DAFOE STAYS CRYPTIC ABOUT TOM HOLLAND THREEQUEL
During an interview with TheWrap, Willem Dafoe was asked about potentially reprising his Green Goblin role from Sam Raimi's Sony Spider-Man trilogy in Marvel Studios' Spider-Man: No Way Home.
At first, Dafoe completely deflected the question, stating that he was there to promote his work for the upcoming release of the video game Twelve Minutes.
When further asked if anything he did say about his rumored return in the Marvel Studios blockbuster would be along the lines of "no comment," he answered, "I'm afraid so."
Even so, Dafoe noted that the time to talk about a movie is when it's actually out:
"I got lots of stuff happening now. And, you know, I always feel like when a film comes out, that’s when it’s time to talk about it."
EVERYONE OR NO ONE IN SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
It should come as no shock that Willem Dafoe, nor anyone else rumored to appear in the Tom Holland-led threequel, can say for certainty whether anything that's been said or written about is true.
Still, it's worth noting that both in this instance and in past ones that Dafoe has more so played coy about the matter rather than shot it straight down or up. There is some Marvel Studios history of actors, recently, in fact, lying about their castings, so this shouldn't necessarily be taken as a bad sign either way.
Nonetheless, Dafoe being in No Way Home is a critical piece to this ever-growing puzzle as the film may set up the MCU's version of the Sinister Six, a gang of some of Spider-Man's most formidable enemies. Part of Dafoe's rumors is him leading this team.
Goblin, Doc Ock, Electro, Rhino, Sandman, and Lizard, all villains from Raimi and The Amazing Spider-Man's Spider-verses, could make for the most memorable villainous team-up in recent film history. Then again, if Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield also hold true on the rumored promises of their respective Spider-Man returns as well, then one heck of a fight is in store all-around.
The point is, apart from all of these reports, rumors, and speculation, No Way Home has a stellar cast already in place. Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Marisa Tomei, and many others will bring another action-packed Spider-Man film for audiences worldwide to witness.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is expected to swing into theaters on December 17, 2021.
