The Green Goblin is one of the villains confirmed to return in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and his new costume supports a big theory about his comeback. The Marvel Cinematic Universe keeps expanding, and through its Phase 4, it will explore a more complex and layered concept that will change this connected universe forever: the multiverse. Phase 4 has already teased and addressed the multiverse, mostly in Loki, but the MCU will go deeper into it in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

After Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) exposed his identity to the world and framed him for his murder at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, Spider-Man: No Way Home will see Peter Parker (Tom Holland) dealing with the consequences of having his biggest secret revealed. Peter will ask Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help in casting a spell that will make everyone forget he’s Spider-Man, but it won’t go as planned as they will end up further messing with the fragile fabric of time and space, opening the gates to the multiverse. As a result, villains from past Spider-Man movies will cross over to the MCU, and the ones confirmed are Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Electro (Jamie Foxx), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), and Lizard (Rhys Ifans).

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The return of most of them was not only a surprise to fans of Spider-Man but was also quite confusing, as some of them died in their original movies, and the confusion only grew when Doctor Strange told Holland’s Peter that these villains are destined to die fighting their respective versions of Spider-Man. The first of these to be defeated by a Spider-Man was the Green Goblin, who was killed in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, which is why fans have wondered how he’s coming back in No Way Home – and the answer might be in his new costume, which supports the theory of this Green Goblin not being the one seen in Raimi’s movie.

During a villains panel at CCXP, Willem Dafoe shared that the Green Goblin costume he wore in No Way Home is different from the one in Raimi’s movie and it was upgraded, adding that Norman and the Goblin “have a few more tricks up their sleeve” – and in order for Norman to have an upgraded suit, he would have to come from a different branch of the multiverse. Among the many fan theories surrounding Spider-Man: No Way Home is one that suggests these villains are variants of those seen in Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy and Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man movies. Loki introduced the concept of variants, so it would make sense that the MCU carries on with it in No Way Home, which would also give more freedom to the writers as they don’t have to worry about continuity with the previous movies, so they don’t have to come up with convoluted and unbelievable explanations on why and how deceased villains are coming back.

With a just few more days to go before the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, theories and rumors on the villains and the potential appearance of other characters (as are those of past versions of Spider-Man) will surely gain more force, but so far, the safest bet about the villains is that they are not the same ones seen in Raimi’s trilogy and Webb’s movies, and they just come from parallel sides of the still mysterious multiverse.

Key Release Dates
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  • Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)Release date: Dec 17, 2021
  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)Release date: May 06, 2022
  • Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: Jul 08, 2022
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever/Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: Nov 11, 2022
  • The Marvels/Captain Marvel 2 (2023)Release date: Feb 17, 2023
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)Release date: Jul 28, 2023
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)Release date: May 05, 2023
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About The Author


Adrienne Tyler
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Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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