Jon Watts talks odds of including Doc Ock, Green Goblin in new Spidey movies

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Spider-Man has perhaps the best rogues gallery in the Marvel canon, a few key baddies being Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus (Doc Ock), Mysterio, Vulture, The Lizard, Electro, Shocker, Kraven the Hunter, Tombstone and many more. Goblin and Ock have made famous appearances in past movies and rank among his most well-known adversaries, and while these new Spidey movies have brought in some that haven’t been seen on the big screen before, many are wondering when these classic foes will give Tom Holland’s Spider-Man a run for his (lack of) money.

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For his new solo outings, HOMECOMING and FAR FROM HOME, Holland’s Spider-Man/Peter Parker has encountered Vulture (Michael Keaton), Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) and even less outfitted versions of Shocker (Logan Marshall-Green and Bokeem Woodbine). Director Jon Watts spoke to CinemaBlend about future villains, and while the Wall-Crawler has more well-known baddies out there it was important for them to bring in new foes for audiences to see on screen, instead of ones they’ve seen before.

You always start by trying to show people something that they haven't seen before, unless you have a really good reason, I think, to bring back someone we've seen before. Spider-Man has such a great rogue's gallery that there's a lot still I think to draw from. I mean, we also put Cyclone, Molten Man and Hydro Man in this movie, in a very roundabout way. … Technically you could say [Mexico’s villain] was like Sandman. But yeah, it's always about trying to find something new and just trying to push the envelope there, but I dunno, I dunno who it could be next.

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Even Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige weighed in, saying it’s all about finding the right time to bring these characters back to the big screen again, and in a way that’s not rehashing angles from the past.

It just depends on, is it the right story? Is that the right time? Is there the right angle to do it again in a way that feels fresh and doesn't feel like, ‘Oh, here it is again.’ Because Spidey, as you know, better than anyone, has a great roster of villains. A great number of them, with Mysterio and Vulture being two of the best that hadn't been brought to the screen before. I think it all depends on what the story is. It all depends on what the, what the angle is.

Green Goblin/Norman Osborn was the first of Spidey’s roster of villains to make his big screen debut, with Willem Dafoe playing him in Sam Raimi’s SPIDER-MAN in 2002. In 2004 Doc Ock made his arrival, played by Alfred Molina to much acclaim. After the character was rebooted, Goblin made another appearance in THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2, this time played by Dane DeHaan’s Harry Osborn, with Chris Cooper playing the sickly Norman. The end of that movie also teased the arrival of the Sinister Six, which would've included Ock and Vulture. Goblin and Octopus took on new forms again in the animated INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, but for Goblin in a hulking, winged form, and Ock as a woman named Olivia Octavius (Kathryn Hahn). 

Right now it seems everyone involved with these new movies is dedicated to looking through the character's collection of classic villains and pulling from more unique places than past movies have gone, which is totally fine. There's no need to keep bringing back Goblin before characters like Vulture (and hopefully Kraven) have had time to shine. That being said, it will get to the point where Spidey needs someone like a Goblin or Ock to really push him, so I don't think it will be long before they are welcomed back into the live-action fold.

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME is in theaters now.