Legendary filmmaker Sam Raimi makes his Marvel Universe return next year with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but some of the characters he brought to the big screen in his Spider-Man trilogy are also on their way to the MCU. Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus and Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin have been confirmed, and we're 99.9% sure we'll also see Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker.
In the first trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home, we actually got to see Doc Ock back in action and it was immediately made clear that he's the same Otto Octavius from 2004's Spider-Man 2.
SYFY Wire recently asked Raimi for his thoughts on that trailer, and it seems he was just as impressed as the rest of us. "That was beautiful. He looks great, the animation’s great. I’m assuming it’s not puppeted because when we did Doc Ock, we had puppets and animation for his octopus tentacles. But it was smooth and powerful and I loved his costume. I think it’s gonna be a great movie."
Given Doctor Strange's role in the next Spider-Man movie, you have to believe Raimi knows more about this one than he's letting on (rumours continue to persist that Maguire's Peter Parker could have a cameo role in the Doctor Strange sequel).
Asked if he could share anything about that movie, the filmmaker decided to plead the Fifth. "They won’t let me say anything," Raimi stated. "I guess not...I’m sorry."
That's a shame, but no great surprise when that movie promises to kick open the door to the live-action version of the MCU's Multiverse. The sequel has the potential to change everything about this shared world, and it's no wonder Kevin Feige is looking to keep a tight lid on any sort of story details.
Which classic villain are you most excited to see return in Spider-Man: No Way Home?