Spider-Man: No Way Home brings back a lot of familiar faces from the past, but it's Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin who arguably makes the biggest impact. While the actor got to pick up right where he left off in 2002's Spider-Man, Norman Osborn destroys his mask during his second scene in the movie - a creative decision that proves beneficial to Dafoe's performance.
After all, a scene like the one where Tom Holland's Peter Parker repeatedly punches Norman only to have the Goblin laugh in his face the entire time would not have worked as well with a mask in the way. However, a lot of fans were still disappointed to see the Goblin mask dropped so soon into Spider-Man: No Way Home. Talking to The New York Times, Dafoe explained what led to the decision.
"I must be honest, I am aware that there was some criticism of that [Green Goblin] mask in the original one. We heard it enough that it was probably a consideration, to change it up a little bit," the actor explains. "I don’t think about that because I don’t think about emoting with my face. My face follows my heart. It’s just an expression of what you’re feeling."
In the same interview, Dafoe talked about wanting to make sure Norman was more than just a meme in the threequel. "I really didn’t want to do a cameo," he said of being approached for Spider-Man: No Way Home. "I wanted to make sure there was something substantial enough to do that wasn’t just a tip of the hat. And the other thing was, I said I really want there to be action - I want to take part in action scenes. Because that’s really fun for me. It’s the only way to root the character. Otherwise it just becomes a series of memes."
Mask or no mask, Dafoe's work in the movie was nothing short of spectacular. Another scene or two with him in full costume would have probably been welcomed, but it ultimately didn't hurt Spider-Man: No Way Home to head down a different route. After all, the Goblin now stands out as the MCU Spidey's greatest foe.
See what Tom Holland told us about working with Dafoe in the player below:
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