Rather than introduce a new villain or two, so far Spider-Man: No Way Home is bringing back an assortment of familiar faces from other Spider-Man film series. Just like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the third Tom Holland-led Spidey flick is embracing other realities, with Jamie Foxx and Alfred Molina confirmed to be reprising Electro and Doctor Octopus, respectively, and an assortment of other established villains also rumored to appear. But one name that isn’t part of the lineup is Dane DeHaan, who played Harry Osborn, a.k.a. Green Goblin, in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and it turns out we shouldn’t expect DeHaan to play that character in No Way Home… or ever again.
While promoting his new Apple TV+ miniseries Lisey’s Story (based on the same-named novel by Stephen King), Dane DeHaan spoke with The Playlist about how although he enjoyed his brief time working in the Amazing Spider-Man film series, he’s more interested in tackling new roles rather than revisit Harry Osborn. The actor explained:
At this point in my life, I’d much rather do something new. I love making those kinds of movies. They’re super fun to make and an incredible thing to be a part of. But I don’t think I’d want to go back and do something I did seven years ago…At the time, it seemed like something I was going to be doing for a very long time. That seemed really cool and exciting—where we were told they were going with it, and everything that was supposed to happen with it and ultimately didn’t. That would have been awesome, and it would have been a really cool, amazing thing in my life.
At the time The Amazing Spider-Man 2 came out, big things certainly on the horizon for Dane DeHaan in the superhero franchise. The sequel saw Harry Osborn transform into the Green Goblin during a desperate attempt to cure his genetic illness. Upon donning the Green Goblin gear, he flew to fight Spider-Man and quickly learned that the Web-Slinger was Peter Parker. Their conflict ended with Gwen Stacy’s death, and although Harry was thrown into the Ravencroft Institute, he tasked the mysterious Gustav Fiers with putting together a team, with Paul Giamtti’s Aleksei Sytsevich, a.k.a. Rhino, being the first recruit.
This laid the groundwork for not just at least one more Amazing Spider-Man installment, but also a Sinister Six movie, and Dane DeHaan confirmed last year he would have been involved with that. However, The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s underwhelming critical and commercial performance resulted in Sony Pictures scrapping the franchise and teaming up with Marvel Studios to bring Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So while Spider-Man: No Way Home will at least reunite us with Electro, The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s other main villain, as far as DeHaan’s Harry Osborn is concerned, he’s still languishing within Ravencroft’s walls.
Now all this isn’t to say that Dane DeHaan will never appear in another comic book movie. Quite the opposite, as he added in the interview that he’d “like to be a part of” such a project, so long as it was “different.” So there’s still a chance we could see him in the MCU someday, it just won’t be as any version of Harry Osborn. Or maybe DeHaan will head over to the DCEU instead. As for the folks out there who wanting to see some kind of Green Goblin on the big screen, you may be in luck, as Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn is rumored to be appearing in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Those of you simply wanting to see more of Dane DeHaan’s acting work can watch him play Jim Dooley in Lisey’s Story, with the first two episodes now being available on Apple TV+. Spider-Man: No Way Home swings into theaters on December 17, and stay locked on CinemaBlend for more news about upcoming Marvel movies.
