Rumours persist that Willem Dafoe will reprise the role of Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in Spider-Man: No Way Home as the leader of an interdimensional Sinister Six, but that's yet to be confirmed.
Recently Collider caught up with the actor to discuss a number of subjects, including the projects he's filmed recently that are set to be released in 2021. After talking about performing in Germany for Vasilis Katsoupis's Inside, the actor chose his words carefully about another secretive project.
"The other things that I've been doing lately? I'd prefer to wait until we're ready for them to come out."
Intriguing, eh? He wasn't referring to Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom as that sequel was discussed elsewhere in the interview. It also seems unlikely Dafoe wouldn't be able to discuss movies like Yorgos Lanthimos' Poor Things and Giada Colagrande's Tropico. As a result, we can't help but wonder whether the Spider-Man star is keeping his role in the Marvel Studios threequel a secret for now.
That's quite a contrast to Alfred Molina, but nothing is confirmed, so we'll see what happens. A return as the Green Goblin would be epic, though, and we can't think of a better leader for the Sinister Six...
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cameos we could see in Spider-Man: No Way Home!
5. Chris Cooper's Green Goblin
Right now, the majority of rumors suggest that Willem Dafoe will return as Spider-Man's Green Goblin and this film's lead villain. It makes sense to have Norman Osborn pulling the strings as he's clearly the sort of baddie who would want to travel through the Multiverse destroying every possible version of Peter Parker.
However, had The Amazing Spider-Man 3 become a reality, we were likely going to see Chris Cooper transform into a Green Goblin more akin to the one in Ultimate Spider-Man.
Picking up with Andrew Garfield's Spidey as he battles this Goblin would be fun, and likely means he'd underestimate what a threat the other Norman is in his green flight suit. This could be an interesting way for Sony to tease us with their original plans, all while revealing what this Spider-Man has been facing since 2014.
We're not banking on it, but it sure would be fun to see this very different version of Green Goblin on screen.
4. Jake Gyllenhaal...As Spider-Man
Once upon a time, there were plans for Jake Gyllenhaal to potentially replace Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man.
That never came to pass, and the actor would instead get to enter the wall-crawler's world as Mysterio in 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home. We'd be gobsmacked if Quentin Beck isn't revealed to be alive in No Way Home with the reveal that there was, in fact, some truth to his claims about the Multiverse.
Tom Holland's Spidey crossing paths with a version of himself who has the face of one of his greatest enemies has the potential to be a great showcase of what it means for there to be a Multiverse. It also leaves the door open to Maguire playing both his Spider-Man and the MCU's Uncle Ben (a popular theory online).
Gyllenhaal's return as Mysterio is a must, and this would be an effective precursor to that happening.
3. Deadpool
Fans remain as anxious as ever to learn how Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool will be brought into the MCU, especially when Marvel Studios is taking its time rebooting the X-Men.
Marvel Studios could choose to reboot the Merc with the Mouth, but we would argue that it makes more sense for the original Wade Wilson to find his way into a new world.
That world is, of course, the MCU and Spider-Man: No Way Home feels like the best possible place to make it happen. Spidey and Deadpool have a storied history on the page, and none of us ever expected them to share the screen; that being part of this film would be nothing short of mind-blowing.
This only needs to be a brief cameo as Spidey leaps from world to world, but it would be...amazing.
2. The Punisher
Charlie Cox is supposedly returning as Matt Murdock to represent Peter Parker in court after Mysterio framed him for murder and the attack on London.
We don't know if he's going to suit up as Daredevil, but Spider-Man: No Way Home is as good a place as any to bring Jon Bernthal back as Frank Castle. In the comics, he was introduced as a vigilante attempting to take the "criminal" web-slinger down, and that's something we could see play out here as well.
Marvel Studios could even follow Ultimate Spider-Man by having Peter take a bullet from The Punisher before having to head into battle against the Sinister Six. By that point, Frank Castle could learn he made a mistake, setting up an interesting future arc where he has to deal with the guilt from his actions.
The Punisher is an awesome character and Bernthal was a perfect casting addition, so fingers crossed.
1. PlayStation's Spider-Man And Miles Morales
We don't know how crazy Marvel Studios plans to get with Spider-Man: No Way Home, but it would be a legit surprise for the film not to reference Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in some manner.
After all, Sony's film beat the MCU to the punch when it came to exploring Spidey's place in the "Spider-Verse," and recent title cards shared on this site have indicated that this live-action feature will take inspiration from the Oscar-winning animated feature.
If that means we could see live-action versions of animated Spider-Men in No Way Home, then the versions played by Yuri Lowenthal and Nadji Jeter from the PlayStation games should be a priority.
Those two have done a spectacular job bringing Peter Parker and Miles Morales to life, and some big screen recognition would be well-deserved. They'd only have to lend their voices to the characters, with visual effects used to bring their respective costumes to life on screen. You have to admit, it'd be fun for the MCU's Peter to see this relationship play out in front of him.