Here’s How Marvel Studios Kept Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin Return A Secret

green goblin

Marvel Studios/Sony Pictures


  • The official trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home was released on Tuesday night.
  • The highlight of the trailer was the return of Willem Dafoe as Green Goblin.
  • Here’s how the crew kept this massive surprise a secret for so long.

Of all the many highlights in the new official trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home, the return of Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin — who, rumor has it, will be the main villain of the film — ranked at the top.

Returning to the role for the first time since 2002’s Spider-Man, Dafoe is not only playing Green Goblin once again but — based on the character’s unveiling in the latest trailer —  he’s suited and booted in the same costume he wore nearly 20 years ago.

Given the massive impact of Dafoe’s return, his inclusion in the production was shrouded in secrecy, as evidenced by Tom Holland’s recent anecdote about how the cast and crew managed to sneak Dafoe onto set.

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At a fan event in Los Angeles during which the trailer first premiered, star Tom Holland was on hand to make it official — yes, that’s Dafoe in the Green Goblin suit. “I can talk about this, right? He’s in the trailer,” said Holland, who has earned a reputation for spoiling Marvel secrets.

“It’s actually a funny story when I met Willem for the first time. Obviously, at that time, all of the villains in the film, it was a huge secret that they were in the film. So they would walk around set with these cloaks on. Naturally, these guys were very excited to be coming back and bringing these roles back to life,” Holland said. “I just sort of bumped into this guy in a cloak. I was like, ‘Watch out, mate.’ He took his cloak off, and I almost got really scared — Oh shit, the Goblin’s here.” [via IndieWire]

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Spider-Man: No Way Home — the fourth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 4 following Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Eternals, and 27th film overall — stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, Zendaya as MJ, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Jamie Foxx as Electro, Alfred Molina as Doc Ock, and Willem Dafoe as Green Goblin. By the time the film is over, that cast list will likely add a few more names — such as Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield — to it as well. The film is scheduled to hit theaters in the United States on Friday, December 17.

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