Spider-Man: No Way Home continues to spin up excitement from fans, and the latest announcement is that Doctor Octopus will return in the movie with actor Alfred Molina reprising his role from 2004's Spider-Man 2.
Though it's never been said out loud by Sony Pictures, we're fairly sure that there will be some sort of multiverse mayhem happening in No Way Home. Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, two previous Peter Parkers, have reportedly been brought on board to reprise their roles along with Kirsten Dunst and Emma Stone as Mary-Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy, respectively.
"No, no, they will not be appearing in this film," countered Tom Holland in an interview with Esquire. "Unless they have hidden the most massive piece of information from me, which I think is too big of a secret for them to keep from me. But as of yet, no. It'll be a continuation of the Spider-Man movies that we've been making."
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While Tom Holland denies that there will be a Spidey reunion, it is known that the events of the movie will be linked to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Combine this with the announcement that Jamie Foxx is slated to appear as Max Dillon or Electro from 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Alfred Molina is confirmed to be coming back as Otto Octavius, also known as Doctor Octopus, from Spider-Man 2... Yeah, it's looking likely that there's going to be a big ol' timey-wimey conundrum to bring back these antagonists and their Spider-Mans (Spider-Men?) into the newest trilogy.
In an interview with Variety, Molina said it was "wonderful" to be offered the opportunity to play Doc Ock once more in the upcoming movie. The villain drowns (15-year-old spoilers) when he sinks the fusion reactor into the East River in Spider-Man 2, a tragic end for the character as he regains control of the mechanical arms that had caused so much chaos.
"When we were shooting [Spider-Man: No Way Home], we were all under orders not to talk about it, because it was supposed to be some great big secret," said Molina. "But, you know, it's all over the internet. I actually described myself as the worst-kept secret in Hollywood!"
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He did have some concerns, however. Of course, more than 15 years have passed since Spider-Man 2, and people change. "I now have two chins, a wattle, crow's feet and a slightly dodgy lower back," the actor explained, and added that his physicality was a factor in this difference between the movies. "[Director Jon Watts] just looked at me and said, 'Did you see what we did to Bob Downey Jr. and Sam Jackson?'" Molina has been de-aged using computer generated imagery in his scenes in the movie, which apparently pick up after that fateful moment in the river. And he hasn't had to worry about doing his back in, as "it's the tentacles that do all the work!" - all he needs to do, apparently, is "[glare] intensely at the Zoom camera and [make] a menacing noise."
"I just do that a lot, and the arms are doing all the killing and smashing and breaking," said Molina. "I'm just going [glares again] with a kind of mean look on my face. It was fantastic." Spider-Man: No Way Home is scheduled to premiere in December 2021.
Featured Image Credit: Marvel Studios, Sony PicturesTopics: Movies, News, Marvel, Spider-Man