It's been months since credible sources apparently confirmed that Alfred Molina would reprise his role as Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but the movie world has spent that time gently tiptoeing around the issue rather than addressing it. Well, now Molina himself has ensured that there's no more ambiguity, speaking explicitly about making his return as well as giving details about the experience. Somewhere, everyone who ever signed a non-disclosure agreement just fist-pumped in unison.
In a recent interview, Molina discussed not only the fact that he's definitely returning to his fan-favorite role from 2004's Spider-Man 2 (which also happened to spawn a surprisingly popular tie-in video game), but took a surprisingly deep look into the actual filming for the upcoming movie. He first made sure to bring up the elephant in the room, however, and cleared the air about actually returning, which he said he technically wasn't allowed to do.
"We were all under orders not to talk about it, because it was supposed to be some great big secret," Molina said, referencing how everyone was told to stay quiet about his return, even though the news was already leaked. "But, you know, it's all over the internet. I actually described myself as the worst kept secret in Hollywood!" This tracks with Sony Pictures themselves repeatedly denying any rumors of the various leaked Spider-Man: No Way Home cameos, including the teased return of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as their respective versions of the friendly neighborhood superhero.
Molina admitted that, at the age of 67, he doesn't consider himself to be in the ideal physical shape to take on a physical role, which is why he appreciates that the bulk of the role of "Doc Ock" revolves around the mechanical arms. Thanks to that little feature, he proudly boasted that his go-to move as the character is simply glaring menacingly while the arms wreak havoc.
As for how the classic Spidey villain (whose actual name is Dr. Otto Octavius, which will always be amazing) will fit back into the continuity after literally dying at the end of Spider-Man 2 (apologies for the 17-year-old spoilers), Molina said he was reminded by No Way Home director Jon Watts himself that "In this universe, no one really dies." Watts also told him that his role in the film will basically pick up right where he left off in the 2004 Sam Raimi film, which will likely require some of that magical Marvel de-aging tech as seen in films like Captain Marvel.
So that's one less question to ponder while waiting for the next Spider-Man film. Of course, it opens up a plethora of others to discuss, such as how will Doc Ock come back? Or maybe whether all this means Spider-Man: No Way Home will feature its own little "spider-verse"? Hopefully that means more Peter Porker.
Source: Variety