The Amazing Spider-Man 2 actor Dane DeHaan, who played Green Goblin, reflects on getting asked about being in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Former Marvel actor Dane DeHaan opens up on how he was constantly being asked if he was reprising the role of Green Goblin in Spider-Man: No Way Home. While The Multiverse Saga isn’t over yet, Marvel Studios experienced massive success early on with the arc during Phase 4 with Spider-Man: No Way Home. Not only did it wrap up Tom Holland’s Spider-Man trilogy, but it celebrated three generations of the Marvel hero, including Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s franchises too.
Nearly three years after its release during Phase 4, DeHann revealed in an exclusive interview with S.R how he was being bombarded about being part of the Spider-Man: No Way Home cast. As there were a lot of wild Spider-Man: No Way Home rumors floating around at the time, DeHaan shared the following:
I have no idea what’s going on over there. When Andrew was making the latest Spider-Man, I didn’t know it was happening, and people kept asking me like, “Are you in the Spider-Man movie?” I was like, “What the f*** are you talking about?”
Why Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin Made More Sense For No Way Home’s Spider-Man Villain Returns
Even though DeHaan’s version of the Spider-Man foe didn’t come back, the audience still got to experience Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin for the first time since the end of Sam Raimi’s trilogy. In the end, it made way more sense to bring Dafoe back as Norman as opposed to DeHaan’s character in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. DeHaan, sadly, had a short run that didn’t give the audience a chance to invest in him, as The Amazing Spider-Man sequels got canceled after 2014.
Despite the fact that Spider-Man: No Way Home undid Norman’s death, the Spider-Man threequel managed to give Dafoe’s Marvel character a happy ending. Seeing him get cured and another chance to live was the better story to include for Spider-Man: No Way Home, as opposed to bringing back DeHaan as Harry. If this was also Dafoe’s final time playing Norman, Spider-Man: No Way Home was a proper conclusion to his run as the Green Goblin, who has proved one of the most popular Marvel movie villains of all time.
If the MCU ever revisits Garfield and Maguire’s Spider-Man universes, it would be fun to see DeHaan and Dafoe’s Osborn characters cross paths, especially with Norman now being cured. Since Norman’s Harry is dead in his world, meeting his son’s variant who went down a similar dark path would be a compelling story in itself. Until either of them returns to the big screen, though, the world can re-experience Spider-Man: No Way Home and all of the past Spider-Man movies through streaming or on Blu-Ray/DVD.
The Stranger is available to stream on Hulu.