Willem Dafoe Is Going Back To His Greatest Role?
Willem Dafoe is up for portraying the Green Goblin again.
Willem Dafoe is a certifiable legend in Hollywood, appearing in such legendary films as The Lighthouse, The French Dispatch, and American Psycho. Many younger fans may be more familiar, however, with his irreplaceable role as Norman Osborn, AKA The Green Goblin, in both Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, as well as 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. According to a source at Inverse, Willem Dafoe has stated that he would be interested in appearing as Norman Osborn yet again, under the right circumstances.
Willem Dafoe has been doing the press rounds recently to promote his upcoming film, Inside, a psychological thriller in which a high-end art thief becomes trapped in a high-tech luxury penthouse during a heist gone horribly awry. During a recent interview, Dafoe was asked about the possibility of reprising his role as the Green Goblin yet again, an inquiry which the star seemed very open to exploring. Willem Dafoe expressed that he had enjoyed himself thoroughly throughout filming both iterations of the character and would be interested in returning to the role under the right circumstances.
Willem Dafoe famously agreed to appear in No Way Home under the condition that he perform most of his own stunts, explaining to the press that half the fun of being in a superhero movie is getting to be involved in the high-concept action scenes. One such scene sees the 67-year-old actor lifting Tom Holland‘s Peter Parker into the air and pile driving him through several floors of luxury apartments, destroying the building under the massive weight of his own strength. No Way Home was an instant hit with fans and critics alike, making just under $2 billion at the box office, due in no small part to Dafoe’s scene-stealing performance, resulting in a massive reinvigoration of support for the character.
Of course, Willem Dafoe didn’t elaborate on what specific conditions would need to be met in order for him to sign on to another Spider-Man film, but it can be assumed that he intends to perform more incredible stunt work, only after reading an incredibly compelling screenplay. Dafoe has been incredibly busy recently, with a career spanning over 140 credited roles via IMDb, with a staggering 11 films in various active stages of production at the time of this writing. Among the many films currently in production are Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, and Giada Colagrande’s Tropico, which stars Willem Dafoe alongside Pedro Pascal.
Given that the gap between Willem Dafoe’s portrayals of The Green Goblin was nearly two decades apart and he didn’t miss a beat, it stands to reason that time is not a significant factor for the highly dynamic actor. Additionally, Sam Raimi has expressed interest in returning to the Spider-Man franchise, only under the express condition that Tobey Maguire reprises his role as the titular web-slinger. With the events of No Way Home potentially saving Norman Osborn’s life and humanity, we could see the character return in a completely different light than his previous installments, with a fourth film in the Raimi-verse.
