One majorSpider-Manvillain has never appeared in a movie yet, despite his huge impact inMarvel Comics. Throughout the years, Spider-Man has faced many antagonists on the big screen, from A-list Marvel supervillains such as Doctor Octopus and Venom in Sam Raimi’sSpider-Mantrilogy to lesser-known criminals like Shocker andDonald Glover’s pre-Prowler Aaron Davisin the MCU’sSpider-Man: Homecoming. Sony’s Spider-Man Universe also gave some villains their own movies, turning them into anti-heroes who faced their own enemies.
Being Spider-Man’s lifelong archnemesis in the comics, Green Goblin has been a constant threat to the wall-crawler across all three major live-action movie franchises.Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn was Spidey’s main enemy in Sam Raimi’sSpider-Manand the MCU’sSpider-Man: No Way Home; James Franco’s Harry Osborn fought Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker inSpider-Man 3, and Dane DeHaan’s Harry killed Gwen Stacy inThe Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Marvel’s Ultimate Green Goblin Hasn’t Appeared In Any Spider-Man Movie Yet
All Live-Action Green Goblins Have Been Based On The Classic Version Of Spider-Man’s Archnemesis
In Marvel Comics' original Ultimate universe, Earth 1610,Norman Osborn transforms into a large, muscular monster instead of wearing the Green Goblin mask and suit. In this universe, Osborn tries to replicate the Super Soldier serum, but the experiment goes wrong and turns him into a Hulk-like creature.All major live-action Spider-Man movieshave taken inspiration from the Ultimate universe. For instance, Dafoe’s Norman Osborn tries to create a Super Soldier serum in Raimi’sSpider-Manand Chris Cooper’s Norman Osborn has a rare disease that alters his body inThe Amazing Spider-Man 2. However, Ultimate Green Goblin’s monster appearance hasn’t been adapted yet in live-action.
Spider-Man’s MCU Future Already Has The Perfect Green Goblin Story
Peter Parker meets the Green Goblin in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but their story is still far from over in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
If theAmazing Spider-Manfranchise had continued, Chris Cooper’s Norman Osborn could have returned with a power-up. One ofThe Amazing Spider-Man 2’s deleted scenes reveals that Oscorp kept Norman Osborn’s head frozen in a cryogenics tank, which teased his eventual resurrection and possible transformation into a more monstruous version of the Green Goblin. Unfortunately for this plotline,The Amazing Spider-Man 3and Sony’s originalSinister Sixmovies were canceledshortly afterThe Amazing Spider-Man 2’s release.
One MCU Character Could Eventually Fight Ultimate Green Goblin
The MCU’s Miles Morales Could Fight A Monster Green Goblin Once Peter Parker Retires
Since Tom Holland’s Spider-Man already had a life-changing encounter with Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin, no version of Norman Osborn is likely to return anytime soon. Still, Green Goblin is too important to Spider-Man’s history to be left as a one-off villain. So, once Tom Holland’s Peter Parker retires and passes on the torch to Miles Morales,one of the MCU villains Miles could face could be a brand-new version of the Green Goblin. In the Ultimate comics, Peter Parker dies fighting Green Goblin, opening the door for Miles Morales' introduction.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verseadapted Miles Morales' Ultimate comics origin with Peter Parker’s death at the hands of a monstruous Green Goblin, inspiring Miles to take up the Spider-Man mantle.
Apparently, Norman Osborn doesn’t exist in the MCU’s main timeline, or at least he isn’t publicly known yet. In the future, Miles Morales’Spider-Mancould meet the MCU’s own version of Norman Osborn, who could transform into a huge monster while trying to replicate Captain America or Hulk’s powers. Such a fresh adaptation of the Green Goblin would stand apart from Willem Dafoe’s iconic portrayal of the villain, which now seems extremely difficult to match by any other actor who attempted to portray the classic, suited-up Green Goblin.
