At the end of 2021, Willem Dafoe returned to the role of Norman Osborn, a.k.a. The Green Goblin, in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the 27th of the Marvel movies in order. While it was great to see him reprise the baddie from the Sam Raimi Spidey film series, and we’ll also soon hear Colman Domingo leave his stamp on the character in the Disney+ animated series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, the fact of the matter is that there’s still no indication we’ll ever meet a version of Norman who lives in the main MCU continuity. That said, I am intrigued by another actor’s pitch on playing the role within the franchise.
Chris Diamantopoulos is no stranger to superhero media, having voiced DC characters like Green Arrow, Steve Trevor and Aquaman, as well as various roles in Invincible, which can be streamed with a Prime Video subscription. However, he has yet to leave his stamp on the Marvel space, but while speaking with The Direct, the actor shared how he’s like to play Norman Osborn in the MCU:
But I think that they should make a series called 'Goblin,' and it should be about Norman Osborn leading up to becoming the Green Goblin. And I should be Norman Osborn.
That’s a pretty interesting idea. After all, the Spider-Man villains Venom, Morbius and Kraven the Hunter have gotten their own movies set in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, so as Peter Parker’s arch-nemesis, Norman Osborn is more than deserving of his own project to shine in. But unlike those other movies, this series Diamantopoulos is pitching could be set in the same world that Tom Holland’s Peter is swinging around in. 2002’s Spider-Man covered Willem Dafoe’s Norman transforming into Green Goblin, but I like the idea of a Disney+ subscription-exclusive series dedicating six-eight episodes to exploring his fall from grace.
Given those aforementioned Spider-Man-adjacent spinoffs, plus Agatha Harkness getting her own spinoff series after WandaVision and DC giving villains like Joker and Penguin the spotlight on the big and small screens, respectively (and next up is the DC Universe-set Clayface movie), I’d like to think a Green Goblin series could stand a decent shot of happening rather than merely be a pipe dream. Whether or not this does end up being added to the upcoming Marvel TV shows slate someday remains to be seen, but Chris Diamantopoulos is certainly game to join the MCU in some form or fashion. As he explained:
I would be very good in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yeah, I do definitely. I was born going to Silver Snail comic shop. That's like one of the first place I ever went when I was a little kid, little baby. I've been a comic fan, a Marvel fan for my entire life, passed that on to my son. He's a crazy comic collector, particularly 80s and 90s stuff.
As far as upcoming Spider-Man movies and TV shows go besides the aforementioned Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, the only other one that’s scheduled so far is Tom Holland’s Spider-Man 4, which comes out on July 24, 2026. However, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse is still on the way to wrap up the animated Spider-Verse trilogy, and it’s also been teased that Miles Morales could get his own live-action movie. Then there’s Nicholas Cage’s Spider-Noir series, which is filming now and will air on MGM+ and Amazon Prime Video at a yet-to-be-determined date.
For now, head to Disney+ to revisit Willem Dafoe’s previous Green Goblin appearances, and remember that Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man premieres on January 29. Chris Diamantopoulos’ latest project, the TV show The Sticky, can be found on Amazon Prime Video.
