When reports surfaced that “Spider-Man 2” actor Alfred Molina would be reprising the role of Doctor Otto Octavius, aka Doctor Octopus, the internet flipped and went to further speculation mode. It seemed like the multiverse was truly upon Marvel. In Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man 2,” Otto (Peter Parker’s mentor) becomes the Spider-Man villain known as Doctor Octopus, a science-based criminal with mechanical tentacles and attempts to steal funds for his fusion experiment. At the end of that Sony movie, Octavius had a change of heart, sacrificing himself to save New York City. Now in something of a twist, considering many people thought he’d be playing a similar but ultimately different iteration of the character, according to Alfred while speaking with Variety, he’s playing that exact same incarnation in the latest installment, “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” from Marvel Studios and director Jon Watts.
“When we were shooting it, we were all under orders not to talk about it because it was supposed to be some great big secret,” Alfred Molina told Variety. He also talked about his experience reprising Doc Ock after multiple years between films, “It was wonderful. It was very interesting going back after 17 years to play the same role, given that in the intervening years, I now have two chins, a wattle, crow’s feet, and a slightly dodgy lower back.”
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“Spider-Man: No Way Home” has been rumored to be a Multiverse project despite denials from Tom Holland about former Spider-Man actors appearing, and if Molina is indeed playing the exact version of his character from “Spider-Man 2,” it seems to totally support that he’s coming from the same universe but before his death.
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When Molina asked director Jon Watts why Otto was able to return after dying in “Spider-Man 2,” the filmmaker said, “In this universe, no one really dies.”
Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx is also returning for “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and had previously confirmed his return to the Electro part from Marc Webb‘s “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” but suggested he wouldn’t be in blue makeup this time around and gave us the impression he might be a different incarnation of the villain (which really seems to muck things up contradictorily).
While it may seem confusing now, I’m sure once we get a glimpse at the movie’s trailer, we might get more answers to our questions about how Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) factors in and why villains from previous eras of the franchise are showing up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” will hit theaters on December 17, 2021.
