Marvel’s veil of secrecy is both admirable and frustrating, especially when it comes to casting news. Things usually are kept under wraps, but then there are the times when actors have gotten loose-lipped about their MCU status. This is what happened when Spider-Man: No Way Home’s Alfred Molina followed in the footsteps of his co-star Tom Holland. Molina accidentally confirmed the news he was returning to the franchise as Doctor Octopus after first playing the role in 2004’s Spider-Man 2 -- still one of the best Spider-Man movies. Confirming those months of speculation was a payoff for fans, but a headache for the studio. After opening up his mouth, Molina recalled the hot water he got into with Sony and Marvel.
A year removed from the monumental success of No Way Home, Molina was promoting his new TV series, Three Pines, with Radio Times when the subject came up. The Emmy-nominated actor was asked about whether he was returning to play Doc Ock again. But this time he remained tight-lipped as he harkened back to spilling the beans about his MCU debut.
That's the official line. I got into a bit of trouble over the last iteration because I happened to let the cat out of the bag quite innocently. Just accidentally, I was talking to a journalist who said, 'So, you know, how's the Spider-Man movie going?' And I went, 'Oh, great thanks.’ Then literally the next day, Variety was like, 'Alfred Molina reveals Doc Ock returns'.
Making headlines was a double-edged sword for the thespian. He answered a long-simmering question for Spider-Man: No Way Home, a movie we now know is especially important to the Multiverse Saga. Along with Molina’s return as the brilliant scientist, there were rumors of Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin and Jamie Foxx’s Electro, the latter of whom played coy about the rumors. Their strategy followed the MCU protocol while the Frida star didn’t get the memo. Despite revealing his return, seeing him along with Foxx, Dafoe and other Spidey villains in the movie was a major payoff.
While fans rejoiced in the reveal, Sony and Marvel weren’t so excited. Molina recalled how Feige and Sony head Amy Pascal reacted to him speaking with Variety. He even called a moment where the Marvel honcho called him out after the secret was spoiled.
And I got into such trouble. I was getting phone calls from Amy Pascal, Kevin Feige was on the red carpet somewhere and somebody asked him about some Marvel movie and apparently, he got a bit snippy and turned around and said, 'Ask Alfred Molina'. So, I got into a little bit of hot water. So that's the official line - I can neither confirm nor deny.
It looks like someone learned their lesson the first time. Right now, fans will have to wait and see if Molina will return as Doc Ock in another Spider-Man movie. Of course, Sony and Marvel are continuing their partnership with more films featuring the Web-Slinger. Not only is the film and TV actor’s involvement being questioned as it’s still up in the air about whether Holland will return as Peter Parker.
Until fans get updated about more Spidey fun, they can watch the MCU's Spider-Man trilogy, including Spider-Man: No Way Home, by setting up a Starz trial through an Amazon Prime Video subscription. You can also stream the original Spider-Man trilogy with a Netflix subscription.
