Matthew McConaughey Could Appear in Spider-Man 3 As This Major Villain

A new rumor suggests Matthew McConaughey might join the Marvel Cinematic Universe as this iconic Spider-Man villain.

By Ross Bonaime | Updated

Matthew McConaughey

For years now, it looks as though Marvel has been trying to get Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey to join their Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yet McConaughey is one of the few major actors that has mostly avoided franchises and particularly, the world of superheroes. Yet a new rumor suggests that Marvel might be bringing McConaughey in as one of their most famous villains.

Express is reporting that Matthew McConaughey might make his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in the upcoming Spider-Man 3 as Peter Parker’s nemesis Norman Osborn. While it’s not clear where Express is getting this information from, McConaughey could theoretically make an excellent Norman, and certainly an entertaining Green Goblin (and he would look good as him too).

In films, Spider-Man hasn’t faced off against the Green Goblin played by Norman Osborn since Tobey Maguire’s original Spider-Man trilogy. Norman would also appear in 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, portrayed by Chris Cooper, but the actor never put on the green suit. However in both previous trilogies, Norman Osborne’s son Harry would take up the mantle as Green Goblin, but no word on who would play Harry to Matthew McConaughey’s Norman.

Green Goblin

This Spider-Man series has featured some of the most interesting villains in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, thanks to the great casting of critically-acclaimed actors as major Spider-Man enemies. 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming introduced Michael Keaton as Vulture, only a few years after appearing in two films that won Best Picture at the Academy Awards: 2014’s Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) – for which he also received his sole Oscar nomination, and 2015’s Spotlight. Not to be outdone, 2019’s Spider-Man: Far from Home cast Jake Gyllenhaal as Quentin Beck/Mysterio. 

But Matthew McConaughey seems to have been on Marvel’s wish list for some time now. McConaughey previously turned down an unspecified role in 2017’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 to appear in The Dark Tower instead. McConaughey told Playboy in a 2017 interview, “I liked Guardians of the Galaxy, but what I saw was ‘It’s successful, and now we’ve got room to make a colorful part for another big-name actor.” If McConaughey were to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a big iconic role like that or Norman Osborn would be a great opportunity for McConaughey to be more than just a big-name actor.

This rumor of Matthew McConaughey joining Spider-Man 3 comes alongside a slew of other casting announcements and theories about what might be coming for Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Benedict Cumberbatch has already been announced to reprise his role of Doctor Strange in the latest Spider-Man film. This announcement came soon after Jamie Foxx was confirmed to play his The Amazing Spider-Man 2 villain of Electro in the next film as well. With Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness opening on March 25, 2022 – only three months after Spider-Man 3 is scheduled for release on December 17, 2021 – it seems extremely likely that Spider-Man 3 will feature plenty of Strange’s multiverse madness. 

Tom Holland Spider-Man

Because of Electro’s involvement, there have even been rumors that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield might also make appearances in the next Spider-Man film, and if Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has taught us anything, it’s that the only thing better than one Spider-Man is multiple Spider-Men/women/pigs. Maybe Matthew McConaughey won’t even be the only Norman Osborn in this upcoming film? Maybe Willem Dafoe could also show up in this universe?

But with Spider-Man casting announcements all over the place lately, it seems likely that we’ll know if Matthew McConaughey is involved Spider-Man 3 sooner rather than later.