Summary
- Invincible actor Chris Diamantopoulos desires to portray Norman Osborn in a Marvel series focusing on the Green Goblin.
- There are a lot of challenges attached to following Willem Dafoe’s iconic portrayal as the Green Goblin in Spider-Man movies.
- Integration of the Green Goblin into the MCU through a dedicated series could offer a fresh perspective to the character’s narrative.
The MCU’s perpetual growth and evolution over the years has seen the franchise welcome new and already established stars from several other properties to its ranks, and now one voice actor on the hit show Invincible has thrown his hat in the ring to play an iconic Marvel character in a very specific and original project.
Spider-Man has famously been Marvel’s most popular solo character, singlehandedly drawing interest and intrigue on par with the franchise’s biggest teams like the X-Men, Avengers, and Fantastic Four, all three of which Spidey himself has been a part of. As a result of this immense popularity, Spider-Man, as well as his villains and allies, have become popular dream roles for many aspiring and even acclaimed actors. With the success of the MCU and tops stars like Alfred Molina previously taking on and even reprising roles in the Spider-Man franchise, there’s no doubt that the honor has become even more appealing.
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While the latest news on Spider-Man 4’s script trouble is worrying for many, there’s at least one big fan of the franchise who knows exactly how they think the MCU should build up the live-action Spider-Man mythos. In a recent interview with The Direct, Invincible star Chris Diamantopoulos, who portrays Donald amongst other voice roles on the show, expressed his deep love for comic books, and a desire to join the MCU. “I would be very good in the in the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” Diamantopoulos opined when the subject came up. “Yeah, I do definitely. I was born going to Silver Snail comic shop. That’s like one of the first place I ever went when I was a little kid, little baby. I’ve been a comic fan, a Marvel fan for my entire life, passed that on to my son. He’s a crazy comic collector, particularly 80s and 90s stuff.”
Diamantopoulos’ nostalgic musings are indeed from a time much less fraught with the sort of crossover-focused storytelling that’s become all the rage now, and it shows in his ideas for his debut MCU appearance, where he bravely suggests taking on easily the most hard-to-follow performance in the superhero movie industry: William Dafoe’s Green Goblin. “-I think that they should make a series called ‘Goblin,’ and it should be about Norman Osborn leading up to becoming the Green Goblin. And I should be Norman Osborn.” As a star on one of the few great superhero shows outside the Marvel/DC binary, Diamantopoulos could certainly bring some insight from a new perspective for a Marvel show on Disney+, and his credentials as a fan mean he certainly understands the persona of the Goblin in a pretty important way.
The main roadblock standing in Diamantopoulos’ way in terms of being the Green Goblin is the sheer magnitude of Dafoe’s mastery and association with the role. While his work in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy has become just as integral to the memory of those films as Tobey Maguire’s titular role, his more recent appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home proved that Osborn’s Goblin remains Spidey’s ultimate nemesis and that Dafoe is still the franchise Godsend everyone says he was. Reprising the role to arguably even greater effect more than 2 decades after his first time as the Goblin has made Dafoe harder to recast than names like Hugh Jackman, Heath Ledger, and many more. Diamantopoulos is an accomplished actor and voice actor, with his filmography including voice roles in many franchises such as The Boys, Voltron, and tons of roles for DC, as well as roles in many major TV shows and films across genres. However, the idea that anyone, no matter how qualified or passionate, can take on the role of the Goblin in the near future, seems unlikely. However, with a fourth Spider-Man film in the works for Tom Holland, there’s no doubt that the Green Goblin will have to make it into the MCU proper soon enough. With Peter’s experience with Dafoe’s version assuredly burned into his mind, there’s even greater potential for a story there now.
Before integration into a Spider-Man film, a dedicated series could go a long way to show newer fans why the Green Goblin is Spider-Man’s most infamous villain or even take on the challenge of trying to craft a new, more nuanced Goblin for the MCU’s less sadistic rogues gallery a la the Thanos treatment. Whichever way Marvel Studios decides to go with the character, there’s at least one name out there willing to put in the work required to try and honor Dafoe’s legendary time as the Green Goblin. For now, fans can only wait and see if and when the MCU pulls the trigger on giving Holland’s Spider-Man his ultimate challenge.
The Spider-Man: Home trilogy is available to stream on Disney+.
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is one of the biggest names in entertainment today. The superhero first appeared in the Marvel comic Amazing Fantasy #15 before becoming a leading figure in the Marvel comic-book universe.
Spider-Man has also featured in numerous films and a plethora of video games, most notably Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man (2018) and Spider-Man: Miles Morales.
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Source: The Direct