Willem Dafoe wasn’t going to join Spider-Man: No Way Home for just a cameo appearance
The Spider-Man (2002) actor wanted to get in on the action
Aux News Spider-Man
Actor Willem Dafoe made his grand return to the screen as the Spider-Man villain the Green Goblin in the newest franchise installment, Spider-Man: No Way Home. Before agreeing to reprise the role though, the 66-year-old wanted to make sure that he would not simply stand on the sidelines— instead, he wished to perform action sequences and maintain an integral role in the film.
“I just was concerned about how contrived it was or whether it was just like a power cameo, a reference,” Dafoe says in an interview with Mulderville. “I really was worried that I wouldn’t have something to do.”
“To do this physical stuff was important to me,” Dafoe continues. “One of the first things I said to Jon [Watts] and Amy [Pascal], basically when they pitched it to me, before there was even a script, was, ‘Listen, I don’t want to just pop in there as a cameo or just fill in in close-ups. I want to do the action because that’s fun for me’.”
For him, it was a matter of not only expanding on the character he first played nearly 20 years ago, but also maintaining the integrity of the original villain. It would all be for naught if he could not jump on his air glider and zoom around in the full suit.
“It’s really impossible to add any integrity or any fun to the character if you don’t participate in these things because all that action stuff informs your relationship to the characters and the story, and also it makes you earn your right to play the character,” Dafoe says.
Dafoe was not the only actor to revive their role in the latest feature, joining Alfred Molina as Doc Ock. The two each challenge Peter Parker (Tom Holland), Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), The Lizard (Rhys Ifans), and Electro (Jamie Foxx).
Spider-Man: No Way Home is currently showing in theaters.
63 Comments
I knew, or strongly suspected, every character that was going to show up. Wasn’t sure they’d actually get Rhys Ifans and Thomas Haden Church to show, but that was my only question.
And I had a fucking great time. It’s time to end the Tyranny of the Spoiler Warning.
I only wish they would have really flexed and had Topher make an appearance in the post-credit scene.
I thought Batman was going to be in it
I thought Robin would be in it, not as “Robin” but the next Batman.
Umm no? You don’t like being surprised? Ew. There’s literally no way to argue that knowing all the events of this film is on the same level as going in blindfolded that’s just you talking out your ass. You just don’t know what you’re talking about, spoiler warnings absolutely should exist and the world you’re leaning toward is not a place I want to raise my children. Furthermore anyone who openly spoils this movie in public within the next two weeks is totally an asshole.
You, have a bad opinion pal.
I didn’t watch a single trailer for Infinity War I didnt even know Natasha was going to be blonde. You can’t possibly argue that that film would have been the same experience for me if I had seen the trailer and known the aesthetic prior. You should try it some time if you can get your head that far out of your own ass.
yes I heard spoilers online several months beforehand, I completely believe I would have enjoyed the film even more than I did had I not known that information. How can you possibly argue otherwise? People are stupid and don’t know what they want. Impatient assholes. Have you opened all your Christmas presents early too? Woof.
Fart
Ifans and Haden Church voiced their characters’ new lines, but they didn’t actually appear in new footage, those were all recycled from their respective movies.
Yeah, I figured old THC looked a little good
THC only appeared as a regular guy for a few seconds and was clearly all CG.
This is especially impressive because the Goblin’s fights in this movie are way more vicious than anything he did last time.
Came to say that. Fuckin bone-breaking smackdowns between him and Tom Holland in this. I really think it was maybe the most crunchy fighting in any of these movies since the Winter Soldier or maybe Civil War. And it was used to tell two different emotional states: Their first big fight through the apartment building was “Holy shit, holy shit, oh fuck, oh no,” and that last brawl at the Statue of Liberty was Peter without not pulling his punches, bloody rage, fully intending to kill someone, reinforced by the fact that it was over so quickly. Good shit.
That power-bomb at the Statue of Liberty was amazing!
I made a really embarrassing noise at that moment that no one heard. Hahaha
And even though it was going to get him killed, Osborn seemed pretty thrilled he’d been able to unlock Tom Holland’s Spider-Man at his full power.
You go, Dafoe!
To be honest I’m disappointed that they didn’t include Norman gaslighting Peter with increasingly nonsensical schemes that are so convoluted and overcomplicated that it’d be just easier for Norman to kill him…
I’m not saying Norman is obsessed with Peter or anything, but the guy went to trouble of creating robot clones of Parker’s dead parents just to screw with him.I was probably the only person who was glad to see Peter’s parents apparently rise from the dead. Imagine how bummed I was that it was all a mad plot from (not dead anymore) Green GoblinBah!
No that was Harry who orchestrated the LMD Parker Parents from beyond the grave.
Man it’s been ages since I’ve read my old Spidey comics.
What was the event that lead to reveal Norman was still alive?
No it was actually what lead into the Clone Saga. Basically Peter had a mental breakdown following the whole Robot Parents thing and started referring to himself in the third person as “The Spider”. Fans didn’t like this so the writer decided to introduce Ben and try to shake things up.
Dear gawd that was the awful grim and gritty phase of Spidey. A completely tonally wrong take for Marvel’s generally happiest character.Yet the Clone Saga still wasn’t the worst Spider-Man storyline that decade.
Happiest? Having only known the character from the sidelines (movies and also the Marvel Zombies run where he cries a lot about eating Aunt May)…huh.
Peter Parker is a grade A loser, with the worst luck with friends and family. Seriously how many of his rogues gallery are linked to people he knows from school, college or work?Spider-Man on the other hand is a funny, sarcastic and generally happy guy. Him cocooning himself in his webbing was completely stupid and the stories around that time were……..not good.
Ha, noted.
Actually Marvel was already planning to bring Ben back when “The Spider” was happening. Their ultimate goal was to replace Peter with a single, happier and more fun version of Spider-Man, so they started doing everything they could to make Peter unlikable, serious, depressing, etc. “I am The Spider”, “I don’t deserve to be happy”, etc.
That would be the 1990s Clone Saga. It went on for 3.5 years and Marvel decided that in order to end it and reveal that Peter was not the clone (as the readers had been told) that they needed some arch-villain with a connection to both Peter and Spidey. Harry Osborn was the original choice, but Marvel decided that it had to be Norman and came up with the explanation as to how he was still alive and what he had been doing for all of those years.
“I’ve been living in Europe, you got a problem with that?”“Okay Norman, that makes perfect sense.”
I mean, he had been “dead” since the 1970s. Marvel had to explain where he had been, why nobody has seen him in all the time, and why he hadn’t gotten involved with everything that had happened (like the birth of his grandson, Harry becoming the Goblin and then dying). So they couldn’t have him be in the U.S. – Europe seemed far enough away that it would make sense that he (a) he could hide there and not be discovered, and (b) he’d be far away from New York that he couldn’t immediately appear if something happened he wanted to get in on.
Is Norman Osborn the original Trump supporter?
Actually the original Trump; there was a whole story arc about him becoming President, which in those more innocent was ridiculed far and wide for portraying an obvious supervillain so easily getting elected.
No, that was Lex Luthor who became president. Osborne became head of SHIELD after the events of Secret Invasion but got removed during Siege when he staged a false flag operation to justify an invasion of Asgard.
Norman isn’t that mad.
Nah, he’s too humane.
Anyway at least Sins Past has been retconned, that was too much even for wacky Norman.
I’m just glad the MCU also punted on trying to make a live action version of Osborn’s hair.
I have wondered wth that is supposed to be my entire fandom. Like, what is the real world equivalent of that ink trim?
Which issue is that from?
Peter Parker: Spider-Man #75
Sincere question: do you know the issue numbers off the top of your head, or do you have a reference? Because I can retain a decent amount of specific knowledge, but specific numbers totally escape me.
Partly Googling
Im not sure of the pre clone saga issues, but Ama,ing spiderman 73 and 74 by Nick Spencer from last year did a big retcon/tidy up of that whole saga, if you want the latest take.Though for my money, they best Spencer stuff is all the brilliant early issues where its Peter and Boomerang being whacky roommates. The continuity stuff that came later was kinda tedious.
But when will a Spider-Man film be brave enough to give us Norman’s O face?
Which is weird, because Osborn had been dead for years at that point and it hadn’t really been about Peter vs. Norman before, even when Gwen was killed.
Ah, yes. I ALSO remember the Spider-Man villain “Reptile”, who definitely existed and was a real villain, I swear.
It’s The Lizard, not Reptile, though the latter would have been pretty amusing.
The Scorpion fighting Scorpion…
THE NORTHMAN looks amazing!They were selling me on Nicole Kidman and Willem Dafoe but when I saw Björk was playing a creepy witch character I was like…
It’s like the first season of Vikings from an alternate timeline where everything is candy.
Anya Taylor-Joy and Ethan Hawke are in it too. Skarsgaard gives an amazing performance.
I was so pleasantly surprised with Dafoe’s appearance/performance. I know he’s beloved but he really deserves more praise for his career. He’s an amazing actor and sounds like he’s a pretty good human being as well.
Willem Dafoe is the most intense human being alive. He has more intensity in his left pinky nail than most actors have in their entire body.Michael Shannon is equivalent to at least Dafoe’s whole arm, though
Michael Shannon is a very good comparison!
They actually did a Herzog movie together but I keep forgetting to watch it
Agreed, but maybe also a yoga-toned calf too:I love this so much.
Wow this is like a friend of mine when we’re at some bars. Wait Shannon frequents a bar in Chicago. Is Michael Shannon my friend?
The dude who wants the Wrestlemania tickets in Groundhog Day?Nah!
A man grows
His brother is also a top class transplant surgeon as well!
I was stoked to see him in the film. Spider Man (2002) is one of my favorite Dafoe roles, and seeing him wear the suit again was like injecting nostalgia straight into my brain.
It is funny, the film didn’t truly “hit me” until Dafoe was on screen.
It was an especially nice touch to get him in an outfit much more like the Goblin of the comics and somehow not make it feel too contrived.
I’m glad they didn’t go completely in the opposite direction and make his role Confusingly Large™.
“Initially, I said I want to kill Tom Holland. Not the character, the actor. I wanted to literally kill the human being Tom Holland on screen. They said, ‘Will, we can’t do that’, so we reached a compromise. I still think I was right.”