“He’d be a great Green Goblin”: Before Willem Dafoe, One Oscar-winning Legend Who Later Played a Marvel Superhero Had Stan Lee’s Approval for Playing Spider-Man’s Archenemy in the Sam Raimi Trilogy

The Marvel villain that could have been: Stan Lee’s first choice to portray the role of Green Goblin, later brought a different Marvel anti-hero to life.

With a career spanning over four decades, Nicolas Cage has solidified his status as a great actor in Hollywood. From his early days as a young actor to his current reign, Cage has always been a force to be reckoned with.

But what most fans don’t know is that the actor was once supposed to play one of Marvel’s most iconic villains. He was in fact the first choice to play Green Goblin in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy. One can only imagine the level of unpredictability he would have brought to that role.

A missed opportunity: Nicolas Cage as Green Goblin

Sam Raimi‘s Spider-Man trilogy is considered as one of the best by Marvel fans for a lot of reasons. The screenplay, side characters, setting, etc all make for a memorable part of the movie. However, the most important factor in a superhero movie is its villains.

Out of all Spider-Man antagonists, the Green Goblin left an impactful performance on the audience’s mind. Willem Defoe’s portrayal was perfect for the role of the deranged villain. But in a surprising twist of fate, Nicolas Cage was once the top choice to play Spider-Man’s arch-nemesis.

Nicolas Cage in Ghost Rider| Credits: Columbia Pictures & Sony Pictures

According to Entertainment Weekly (as per Slash Film), the film’s co-exec producer (and comic-book creator) Stan Lee wanted to cast Cage to play the role of Norman Osborn in 2002’s Spider-Man.

He’d be a great Green Goblin.

The Pig actor reportedly was in talks with Raimi but due to his extremely rigid schedule, he had to turn down the role. The role then went on to Defoe, whose performance was widely praised, but one still wonders what could have been if Cage had taken on the part.

Nicolas Cage’s superhero ventures: Ghost Rider and Beyond

The 1995 Oscar-winning actor did go on to explore his superhero side in the 2007 film Ghost Rider. Although the movie received mixed reviews, it spawned an entertaining franchise. But his connection to Spider-Man didn’t end with his missed role of Green Goblin.

Nicolas Cage in Color Out of Space | Credits: RLJE Films

Cage also got the opportunity to play Superman twice, once as a live-action superhero in a cameo in The Flash, which he wasn’t fond of. Later he appeared as an animated character in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies.

Nicolas Cage in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Credits: Sony Pictures

The Color Out of Space actor voiced Spider-Man Noir in the critically acclaimed animated film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). His performance brought a new level of excitement and intrigue to the character.

Soon fans will be able to see Cage reprise his role as Spider-Man Noir in an upcoming live-action series on MGM+ and Amazon Prime Video. Fans are excited to see what the talented actor brings to the table this time around