Everybody loves Peter Parker in the ‘Spider-Man’ universe. But regardless of who you root for—Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, or Tom Holland—all of us can agree that Willem Dafoe was the greatest Spider-Man antagonist of all time.
After reprising his iconic role as supervillain Norman Osborn / Green Goblin in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Dafoe might return as the iconic character, but he’s got some conditions. Marvel’s coming slew of projects has a great number of concepts that are slowly taking form, and Avengers: Secret Wars is a major event in its timeline.
Set to be the 46th film overall and a devastating conjuncture in the MCU’s Phase 6, Secret Wars, just like Captain America: Civil War, will bring a plethora of characters, both new and old, to the silver screen and put them in a brutal brawl against each other. While a lot of fans are already ruminating whether alternate versions of Spider-Man, such as Maguire and Garfield, will be pulled into this mess, we can’t leave out his villain gallery. That’s where the speculation about Dafoe’s Green Goblin comes in.
Willem Dafoe May Reprise His Role as Green Goblin, ‘If Everything Was Right’
Willem Dafoe made quite a stir in his role in Sam Raimi’s critically acclaimed Spider-Man film trilogy. Even after he took on the role again in Spider-Man: No Way Home, he attracted a large following. With a career as rich in legend as his own, the actor can now cite a long list of renowned and iconic roles. Still, it makes sense that when fans think of Dafoe’s favorite roles, they always return to Green Goblin. He may adopt the insane Goblin persona once again, but he has some conditions.
He talked about his intentions for the future of this acclaimed character in an interview with Inverse:
“If everything was right, sure..I mean, that’s a great role. I liked the fact that it’s a double role both times. Twenty years ago, and fairly recently, both times [were] very different experiences, but I had a good time on both.”
This is slightly of a spoiler alert, but this is consistent with other statements he made about his role. And in order for Dafoe to embrace his glider once again, it would likely need to have the same significant role as it did in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
In 2021, Dafoe outlined his requirements for making a comeback as Green Goblin in Spider-Man: No Way Home, emphasizing that it would need to be more than just fan service (via Game Rant):
“I just was concerned about how contrived it was or whether it was just like a power cameo. I really was worried that I wouldn’t have something to do.”
As his role in Spider-Man: No Way Home is widely regarded as one of the highlights of a film, those conditions seem reasonable for both Dafoe and the audience. It would seem like a waste of talent if a less dramatic role got linked to the actor because his acting is so physically connected to the roles he plays. This begs the question: will we see him in Avengers: Secret Wars?
Can Willem Dafoe Return as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in Secret Wars?
Given the conditions are right, as previously mentioned by Willem Dafoe in the interview, there might be a slight chance that he might return to his quintessential villain role. Green Goblin is as essential to Spider-Man as Joker is to Bruce Wayne / Batman, and his addition to the frey will surely add value to the MCU’s highly anticipated Avengers: Secret Wars.
If we go by the storyline in comics, two worlds literally collide due to the whims of a powerful cosmic entity known as the Beyonder. He forces the heroes and villains to fight for their survival in specially designed ‘Battleworlds’, and Spider-Man plays a big role in the ensuing struggle. It has been speculated that he will have a similar function in the MCU’s version of the event, getting the heroes together and leading them to victory.
However, his path won’t be so easy, marred with villains of all sizes and statures. And the addition of Dafoe’s Green Goblin might just be the right spice needed to rejuvenate the flailing MCU once and for all.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is streaming on DIRECTV.
The release date of Avengers: Secret Wars is set for May 7, 2027.
