The MCU has delighted viewers through live adaptations of famous characters, although few have stirred the viewers as much as Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin and Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus. Their return in “Spider-Man: No Way Home“, audiences could not wait to get a hold of what was in store for them while at the same time, presenting a difficult question for the forthcoming Spider-Man played by Tom Holland.
| Character | Played by | Debut movie | Debut MC movie |
| Norman Osborn’s Green Goblin | Willem Dafoe | Spider-man (2002) | Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) |
| Dr. Otto Octavius’ doctor, Octopus | Alfred Molina | Spider-Man 2 (2004) | Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) |
When such powerful antagonists already exist, then it may sound like a herculean task for Marvel Studios to reimagine such villains. But there’s an artistic way of bringing back these incredible characters without having to recast the roles of Dafoe and Molina.
The Return of Classic Villains
The Spider-Man’s following trilogy in MCU is one of the most expected series of pictures, and the audience is interested in knowing who will oppose Spider-Man next. When superheroes fight mighty villains such as Vulture, Mysterio, and even Thanos, the excitement of the return of Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus in ‘No Way Home’ was all fans could have asked for. These are memorable villains from the comics and also memorable in the eyes of the movie lovers due greatly to Dafoe and Molina.
But how can the MCU once again include these characters? They can’t just recast the roles. Here one should realize that it is possible to create new vicious characters based on the old ones, so as not to lose the best traditions of Dafoe and Molina.
Legacy of Legends: Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus
This way to pay homage to Dafoe’s Green Goblin and Molina’s Doctor Octopus – to create new villains who will adopt these nicknames. The selected comics provide a lot of source material for this sort of approach.
For instance, there is Phil Urich a character who assumes the position of a heroic Green Goblin, turning into a villain could be interesting to add to the MCU. With the shift to the dark side, Urich’s character become more complex that would probably be interesting to see and would top up the twist of the green goblin again.
In Spider-Man 2, Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin is mostly missing which opens new possibilities. Barney could help fill this gap – at least, if Marvel were to introduce a less disciplined version of Spider-Man into his world. This way Marvel can keep the tradition of having a Green Goblin going while also being able to provide the audiences with different experiences.
Likewise, Doctor Octopus could come out of another character of the comics—Luke Carlyle. Carlyle is a resourceful and antagonistic character of the comics in which he pinches Otto Octavius “mechanical arms and uses the technology to build a six-arm costume for himself“. His classic appearance together with the intelligent disposition would quite perfectly fit and modernize the Doctor Octopus character in the MCU.
Luke Carlyle: A New Face for Doctor Octopus
Luke Carlyle’s potential as the new Dr. Octopus lies in the manner in which he could add a new flavor to the character, and at the same time, emulate what Molina has done. Carlyle turns into Doctor Octopus in the comics when he takes Octavius’ arms that he transfers into a destructive six armed attire. This could easily be fashioned for the MCU where Carlyle will be depicted as a younger and more intelligent variant of the said villain.
The main benefit which Marvel Studios would get from introducing Carlyle as Doctor Octopus is that it would not change the idea behind Doctor Octopus character significantly, but at the same time it would open the new opportunities for the next scripts. It concerns youthful vigor and inventive portrayal of the character which was unlike anything audiences of the previous Spider-Man films could witness.
Does Marvel Studios keep aside Norman Osborn and Otto Octavius in the MCU?
Marvel Studios wants to add something fresh to the Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus. Spider-Man: No Way Home came forty with Norman Osborn and Otto Octavius into the MCU, and it made it hard for Marvel Studios to introduce new versions of Green Goblin and Docter Octopus.
Erasing Dafoe and Molina’s roles would be daunting, despite the fact that they had not played the roles for a while. The addition of Philip Urich and Luke Carlyle as new faces of these villains could be a solution to this problem and expand Spider-Man’s rogue galleries in the MCU.
