Marvel Studios Looking To Cast "The Benefactor" For Phase 4; Is Norman Osborn Coming To The MCU?

There have been rumblings for a while now that Norman Osborn and his Dark Avengers could be coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and a new casting call lends weight to that theory.

Apparently, Marvel Studios is looking for someone to play a character under the code name "The Benefactor" and aside from being described as a "mysterious and nefarious benefactor," it's said that the studio is looking for a male actor, preferably Caucasian, and in their 40s to 60s. They're reportedly required to shoot scenes sometime this year in Atlanta. 

As you may recall, Ant-Man and The Wasp's Sonny Burch was employed by someone called "The Benefactor" and there's been speculation ever since that it could, in fact, be Norman Osborn.

So, where could we see this mysterious new character make his debut? The only Marvel Studios projects shooting this year are Black Widow and The Eternals, and it's hard to see how he could fit into either of those beyond a post-credits scene. 

What do you guys think about the possibility of the Green Goblin coming to the MCU? 

We May Know Who Will Play Him

According to regular Marvel Studios scooper Roger Wardell, Kevin Feige is keen on casting The Walking Dead's David Morrissey in a future movie. He's a tremendous actor and no one can blame for them for that, but with the person who claims to have leaked Far From Home's mid-credits scene (more on that below) saying Norman Osborn is played by an actor they don't recognise, does 2+2 = 5?

It's certainly easy enough to imagine him playing Osborn and like so many "B-List" actors before him, Marvel Studios could make him a star. We also know that he's great at playing a sinister villain...
 

So, About That Mid-Credits Scene

Before we get to this, bear in mind that a number of sources online have claimed that Oscorp is the new owner of Avengers Tower and that Norman Osborn will be introduced as a result. When it comes to this description, though, it should be taken with a pinch of salt despite sounding very convincing.

"The mid-credit scene starts off in a dark room, with chilling and villainous music. A defeated and sad looking Mysterio looks out the window from a skyscraper at night time. The view of the shot is within the building looking outwards, so you can't see the building itself.

A voice is heard in the background (which sounds Russian), which says something like "He beat us once, but soon he is going to pay". Mysterio turns around and the voice is revealed to be from the Chameleon in his costume. Mysterio then says "Dimitri, thanks for having my back out there". Chameleon replies with "don't worry, there are more of us". Right then, the music gets darker while the Vulture (similar outfit as homecoming with a few modifications), Scorpion (Outfit similar to comics but few differences), Shocker (Different outfit than homecoming, it looks like the red and yellow suit from comics), and a man in a business suit walk in from another room.

The businessman gathers the villains together and says "I have a proposal". The camera pans out to the outside of the building, which is the old Stark/Avengers tower which has the name "OSCORP" in large green font, at the same spot the Stark logo was, and shows it for a few seconds. The scene ends here. It was about 45 seconds but I have only seen the whole clip twice. I couldn't tell if the businessman was Norman Osborn, or if he was simply an assistant, and I didn't know the actor playing him."

Phew, sounds pretty amazing, right? The question is, what exactly does it all mean? 
 

Is It Real?

This is the million dollar question. For this scene to work, the movie will have to reveal how Adrian Toomes, Shocker, and Mac Gargan are all out of prison (were they broken out or has Osborn somehow freed them?), while the latter two being given suits also seems a tad premature. Why, after his accident, would Gargan have been given a costume that turns him into the Scorpion? 

It might have something to do with his tattoos but there needs to be some sort of explanation and the other big talking point here is why Osborn would want to take Spider-Man out. If we assume that Mysterio was working for him and those rumours about him trying to steal some Stark Industries technology are accurate, that might explain why Norman would want Peter out of the way.

In some ways, it feels like Marvel Studios is jumping the gun but it definitely has Sony's fingerprints all over it, so that must lend some weight to the possibility it's actually a legitimate leak. Bear in mind that it would make sense for Osborn to be Sonny Burch's mysterious employer in Ant-Man and The Wasp too.
 

The Sinister Six

Assuming the Sinister Six is coming in the third Spider-Man movie (and the conclusion of this trilogy feels like the natural place to introduce them), then that could have some major ramifications.

For starters, it will be the wall-crawler's hardest challenge to date and with none of his fellow Avengers there to back him up, there's a very good chance we could witness his first major loss. Either way, this will be a busy movie as Osborn is going to need an origin story and the stage will have to be set for what comes next in the MCU. 

My guess is that Osborn will find a way to end this movie as a hero, possibly by taking down the team himself. Confused? Well, allow me to elaborate...
 

Green Goblin Or Iron Patriot

The Green Goblin has made a number of appearances on the big screen and an argument could be made that the Osborn family is well and truly played out, so it's essential that Marvel Studios do something new with them. Well, there are two possibilities but with Iron Man dead and gone, what's to stop another billionaire adopting the Iron Man/Patriot identity in a bid to be hailed a hero?

An egomaniac like Osborn would love that but where does it leave the Green Goblin?

Well, it's possible Norman will work with Peter as the Patriot before betraying him and he won't actually adopt his Goblin persona until much further down the line. He could also pull double duty and I can easily imagine a scenario where he sets Harry up as the Goblin, something which would rock Peter to the core, especially if they become friends in the meantime. 
 

The Dark Avengers

It's been reported on a number of occasions that the Dark Avengers are coming to the MCU and Osborn leading a group made up of villains disguised as heroes would be a lot of fun, especially if it means we get to see the likes of Abomination, Mysterio, and possibly even Venom (that's probably wishful thinking) lining up to fill the void left by the departure of the original version of the team.

All of this could build to a huge crossover pitting Spider-Man, the new Captain America, and characters like Black Panther and Doctor Strange against Osborn's Iron Patriot. There are many ways Marvel Studios can handle this but a Dark Avengers movie has a huge amount of potential and we could even see the Young Avengers (led by the wall-crawler) assemble to take on the villainous group one day.

It all depends whether Marvel Studios is going to rush through this or carry it over into Phase 5!
 

The Implications Of The Marvel/Sony Deal

We know that Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures have a deal that will keep the wall-crawler in the MCU for at least one more movie but what about after that? Well, they're going to need to renegotiate and while Sony would be silly not to continue with this partnership, if they think they can manage without Kevin Feige, then problems may arise. 

There have been rumblings for a while that they want a Spider-Man/Venom crossover, and if they believe that's going to equal a billion dollar hit, they may not be interested in helping Marvel Studios with its Dark Avengers plans. 

You have to wonder just how hard they would even fight for Spidey at this stage, especially with the Fantastic Four and X-Men returning home. Feige no doubt has a couple of different plans for Phase 4, though, and we don't know what sort of conversations have been taking place lately. 
 

When Will We Know What Comes Next?

Marvel Studios will reveal its Phase 4 slate either at the San Diego Comic-Con or D23 and seeing as the Spider-Man movies have been released every two years, we're bound to get a title reveal for the wall-crawler's next adventure at either event ready for 2021. If it's called Spider-Man: Sinister Six, then that will tell us everything we need to know. 

Of course, Spider-Man: Far From Home will be released before both of those events and if there's no sign of Oscorp, Norman Osborn, or the rumoured post-credits scene, then chances are we'll have got our hopes up for nothing. With any luck, it is true because an MCU version of this villain would be nothing short of spectacular so see...

Nick Fury looks positively exasperated with Peter Parker here, but what are they discussing and where are they? It almost looks like the kind of mansion the Smerdyakov family might call home!
 

Spider-Man: Far From Home's final battle will take place in London and this gorgeous shot of the hero show Spidey in his new costume swinging around Tower Bridge while avoiding Molten Man.
 

The new suit looks spectacular, and a recent TV spot confirmed that Peter creates it in a secret laboratory in the back of that Stark Industries jet. Could it be based on one of Tony's unused designs?
 

Unless she's secretly working for Nick Fury, it's hard to imagine how Peter is going to get away with being caught with his Spider-Man costume in his luggage (he can thank his Aunt May for that). 
 

We know that Peter starts the movie in his Iron Spider costume, but it's his classic red and blue suit he takes overseas with him. Here, he appears to be meeting Quentin Beck for the first time. 
 

Up until now, Angourie Rice hasn't been given a huge amount to do in the MCU, but if you're looking for an example of what a great actress she is, you need to check out the latest season of Black Mirror.
 

After being dusted at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, Nick Fury and Maria Hill are back in the land of the living and scrambling to catch up on a world they haven't been part of for the past five years.
 

It's thought that this scene is set in Mexico and these two are more than likely taking aim at the massive sand/rock creature who the filmmakers will neither confirm nor deny is classic villain Sandman.
 

Things didn't go particularly well for Peter and Liz in Spider-Man: Homecoming, but it seems as if his possible romance with MJ is going to end up taking off in a big way when this sequel is released.
 

Mysterio's costume is awesome, and while he's still being sold as a hero, it's hard to believe that Quentin Beck's villainous nature from the comic books won't be revealed when all is said and done.
 

It's been said that Peter Parker and Quentin Beck will have a brotherly relationship in Spider-Man: Far From Home, and that's bound to make the latter's inevitable betrayal hurt in a massive way. 
 

Happy Hogan is clearly, well, happy to help Spider-Man out in this adventure, and if that means clashing with Nick Fury (just like his boss Tony Stark once did), then he doesn't seem to mind at all. 
 

Spider-Man's stealth suit looks pretty cool, and while it's not the black suit fans were probably hoping to see on the big screen in the MCU, there's no denying that it works as a stealth costume. 
 

The costume also looks great in action, but considering MJ figures out Spider-Man's secret identity, an argument could be made that it doesn't exactly hide the fact that Spidey is overseas! 
 

Director Jon Watts shoots the action here, but we have no idea what this scene actually is. Could it be a scene set in the building formerly known as Avengers Tower? We'll have to wait and see!