Villains like Electro, as played by Jamie Foxx, and The Rhino, portrayed by Paul Giamatti, have been all over the marketing for Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but one character who remains a complete and total mystery is the nefarious Norman Osborn - who will be played by Chris Cooper. As we learned in last year's blockbuster superhero film, the new series of Spider-Man movies begins with the Oscorp founder suffering from a debilitating disease that scientists are working around the clock to cure, and as a result the character has been kept in the shadows. Still, we expect the character to have an explosive presence when he finally does appear, and judging from some recent comments made by Cooper we won't be disappointed.
Currently out promoting his new film August: Osage County, the Academy Award winner recently did an interview with MTV and during the course of the conversation the actor revealed that the new version of the Norman Osborn character will be unlike what we've seen previously. Asked if the movie would have Norman turning into his famous Green Goblin alter-ego in the upcoming sequel, Cooper sidestepped the question saying, "[Amazing] Spider-Man 2 was an introduction to Norman, and — you'll see — an extremely odd introduction, which apparently will lead to something more." Is having a character be introduced while sickly and on a hospital bed considered "extremely odd," or is there something coming that we can't even begin to theorize about yet?
The idea of "leading to something more" will also once again have fans salivating over the idea of a Spider-Man vs. the Sinister Six movie - something that's been rumored and talked about for months now. MTV took the opportunity to ask if the actor has heard about the supervillain team, and while Cooper says that he has received some material about the group and knows about them vaguely, they won't be part of the plans for The Amazing Spider-Man 2. "They said also that this Spider-Man is its own Spider-Man," Cooper said. "We're just kind of starting from the beginning."
Unlike both Foxx and Giamatti, Cooper has a unique challenge in the new superhero movie, as he is playing a character that was featured very prominently in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films. While there is still a good deal of dispute about the look of the Green Goblin's costume in Raimi's version, what can't be denied is how good Willem Dafoe was in the role:
Will Cooper and Webb's new take on the character stand up? Are you excited to see how it turns out? Hit the comments below to tell us what you think.
