Neither Marvel nor Sony have officially confirmed Alfred Molina’s appearance as Doc Ock in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
But Molina himself doesn’t mind confirming the news.
“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,” Molina told Variety during an interview. “But, you know, it’s all over the internet. I actually described myself as the worst kept secret in Hollywood!”
Molina played the villain Otto Octavius in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 back in 2004. And as the newest iteration of the Marvel hero dives into the multiverse, it looks like we’re going to see some familiar faces return.
(Apparently when Molina pointed out to No Way Home director Jon Watts that Doc Ock died, Watts told him “In this universe, no one really dies.”)
But Molina wasn’t just concerned for the fate of his character. He also wanted the details on how the filmmakers were going to handle the fact that he’s aged 17 years since the last time he played Doc Ock.
“He just looked at me, and said, ‘Did you see what we did to Bob Downey Jr. and Sam Jackson?’” Molina said.
Marvel used CGI to de-age Robert Downey Jr. in Captain America: Civil War. Samuel L. Jackson got the same treatment for the 90s set Captain Marvel.
Molina was also a little concerned about the physicality of the role, citing Robert De Niro’s fighting in The Irishman as an example of what he did not want to look like.
“They made Robert De Niro’s face younger, but when he was fighting, he looked like an older guy,” Molina said. “He looked like an old guy! That’s what that’s what worried me about doing it again. I don’t have the same physicality that I had 17 years ago. That’s just a fact.”
Luckily, Doc Ock isn’t like other villains.
“I then remembered that it’s the tentacles that do all the work!”
Spider-Man: No Way Home releases December 2021.
Source: Variety
