Criticism Of The Original Green Goblin Mask Led To Some Changes To His "Spider-Man: No Way Home" Costume, According To Willem Dafoe Himself

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🚨 Warning: Some spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home ahead. 🚨

Alrighty, so you probably know by now that Spider-Man: No Way Home marks the return of Willem Dafoe as the iconic Green Goblin.

Columbia

During the film, his Green Goblin mask is destroyed pretty early on — and Willem thinks it has something to do with some fans not being too keen on it.

  Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

For context, some people found the mask underwhelming when compared to its depiction in the comics. There's also test footage available of the original animatronic mask, which was able to move expressively — which some people preferred.

The animatronic mask ended up not being used, as it was thought to be too scary for younger viewers — and also took eons to put on. 

However, in No Way Home, Green Goblin usually appears with just a hood on. Willem told the New York Times, "I must be honest, I am aware that there was some criticism of that mask in the original one."

  Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

"We heard it enough that it was probably a consideration, to change it up a little bit. I don’t think about that because I don’t think about emoting with my face. My face follows my heart. It’s just an expression of what you’re feeling."

  Albert L. Ortega / Getty Images
Albert L. Ortega / Getty Images

Costume designer Sanja Milković Hays previously told Variety that the color purple was also added to the costume to make it look closer to the comics. She said that the team, “Needed to respect the originals, but also bring them up to the aesthetics of what the new generation expects from us. So it is upgraded and the technology for the way it was made is very different."

  Marvel Entertainment / Courtesy Everett Collection
Marvel Entertainment / Courtesy Everett Collection

Iconic either way!!!