Last week we talked about Marvel’s plans for bringing its Netflix characters back. This week, we’re talking about Marvel, but this time it’s bringing in one of its biggest villains: Norman Osborn.

Last week Disney and Sony finalized a deal that would bring Spider-Man movies to Disney+. There are some finer points to the deal that have gone unmentioned and haven’t been fully analyzed yet. While they may not seem like a big deal now, they will prove to be in the future. While I will explore some of these in the future as more information comes to light. We can start to dive in and explore parts of it. In particular, I can exclusively share that Marvel Studios now has shared rights with a huge character from the Spider-Man (and Marvel at large) mythos: Norman Osborn.

The Details Of Norman Osborn’s Inclusion

Norman Osborn
The more philanthropic Norman Osborn from the Spider-Man video game.

We know Norman, played by Willem Dafoe in the Raimi films, is making his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut. Many people have questions about what this means for the MCU. Part of this new deal means that Marvel has access to characters that they didn’t have before. Norman Osborn/Green Goblin was one such character. Disney and Marvel Studios have wanted to use him, but his rights were exclusive with Sony. Meaning Sony were able to use him in full, but Marvel Studios, up until last week, couldn’t. Obviously, things got murky with the inclusion of Willem Dafoe’s Goblin, but that has sort of softened up Sony to the idea of sharing the character.

Marvel Studio’s plan was to bring in Willem Dafoe as the primary villain for Spider-Man: No Way Home, but I can exclusively share that because of this most recent deal there now exists a separate version of Norman Osborn in the MCU. Peter will begin to research his earth’s version of Norman Osborn after fighting with Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin; but there’s a twist, he’s seemingly not an awful guy. He has political aspirations, makes charitable donations, and even supports The Avengers. They’re playing off the idea that it’s a different earth, and no villain or hero is guaranteed to be on the same path.

Yes, That Means A Different MCU Norman Osborn

What Marvel has wanted to do is explore Norman more; and without putting him in a Goblin outfit (at least not right away), start to peel back the layers of his villainy. This will take place over the next 3-5 years as Marvel begins to set him up as a major villain for both Spider-Man and The Avengers going forward.

This wasn’t something Marvel had finalized until this last week, so we have no concrete details on which projects he’ll appear in, although there’s still time for a No Way Home cameo or post-credit scene. The 4th Holland Spider-Man film is mentioned in the leaked document I read, so that is a safe bet, and possibly Disney+ series as well, as the document I viewed mentioned that he could appear in both movies and Disney+ series.

Norman Osborn
Image: Sony Pictures

Marvel has offered the role to an actor who has not accepted the role yet. This actor is a prominent New Yorker who has a history with Marvel Studios. When or If the deal is finalized, we’ll share more.

We’ve known that Spider-Man: No Way Home will feature the Multiverse in a meaningful way, but now that Marvel and Sony have signed a new agreement, there’s going to be some big ramifications for the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward and we will get to see Marvel explore a different dimension (pun intended) for some of our favorite heroes and villains.

For more on Marvel, check back to That Hashtag Show.