Spider-Man fans are losing it over Willem Dafoe's performance as Green Goblin in No Way Home

21 December 2021, 20:34

Tom Holland & Zendaya Hint 'No Way Home' May Be MJ's Last Spider-Man Movie

By Katie Louise Smith

"Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin sent shivers down my spine the same way he did when I was a kid. Unreal performance."

The people have spoken! Spider-Man: No Way Home is one of the best Marvel movies ever made, with one of the best casts, and some of the greatest performances across the history of the MCU. (And to think it almost never even happened!)

As teased in the trailers, No Way Home sees the villains from Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Sony Spider-Man movies pop up in Tom Holland's Marvel universe thanks to a Doctor Strange spell gone wrong. Alfred Molina's Doc Ock, Jamie Foxx's Electro, Thomas Haden Church's Sandman and Rhys Ifans' Lizard all return, alongside Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin.

Fans have been quick to heap praise on both Molina and Foxx for their unforgettable performances in the film but it's Dafoe returning as the menacing Green Goblin that has set Twitter on fire.

READ MORE: Spider-Man: No Way Home deleted scene featuring Tony Stark's daughter Morgan

WARNING: Spider-Man No Way Home spoilers ahead!

If you still haven't seen No Way Home yet, bookmark this page and come back to it once you've seen the film. If you have seen the film, carry on scrolling – it's time to appreciate the majesty of Willem Dafoe's killer performance.

Dafoe first appeared as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in 2002's Spider-Man alongside Tobey Maguire. He's often been considered one of the greatest comic book movie villains of all time, and No Way Home has pretty much cemented that opinion with both old and new fans.

Without spoiling too much, Dafoe's Green Goblin ends up playing a very pivotal role in the film, all culminating in a spectacular showdown with Tom Holland's Peter Parker. (Tom has already spoken at length about how incredible it was to shoot those fight scenes with Dafoe, too.)

Dafoe's performance in the film appears to have exceeded literally all of the expectations that Spider-Man fans had going into the movie. People can't get over how good his scene-stealing return as the character was, 20 years after his first appearance.

Speaking about the reason why he agreed to sign on to the film and reprise his role as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin, Dafoe basically said it was all down to the fact that they allowed him to do his own stunts.

"I don't want to just pop in there as a cameo, or just fill in close ups, I wanna do the action because that's fun for me," he said. "And also, it's really impossible to add any integrity or any fun to the character if you don't participate in these things because all that action stuff informs your relationship to the characters and the story. And also, it makes you earn your right to play your character in a funny way."

Willem Dafoe? It's Willem DaGOAT forever.

Read more about Spider-Man: No Way Home here:

• Tom Holland confirmed to return as Spider-Man for another MCU trilogy
• Zendaya hints No Way Home may be her last Spider-Man movie | PopBuzz Meets
• Tom Holland stops interview to watch Zendaya walk the Spider-Man red carpet
• Every single Spider-Man movie ranked by Rotten Tomatoes scores

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