Spider-Man: No Way Home Theory Says Willem Dafoe's Unmasked Green Goblin Shot Hides the Movie's Biggest Twist

I recently sat down with Cindel to react to a New Rockstars breakdown hosted by Eric Voss that digs into the Green Goblin's plan in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and it completely changed how I am reading some of the trailer footage. This matters to fans because the theory suggests Willem Dafoe's Norman Osborne is not just the classic Goblin cameo people expect, but a character whose masked and unmasked appearances might be hiding one of the movie's central twists.

According to Eric Voss, the newest trailer gives the best look yet at Green Goblin and Norman Osborne, and despite other returning villains getting MCU style upgrades, Goblin mostly stuck to the original Sam Raimi formula, except for one quick shot late in the trailer that appears to show Goblin unmasked. Voss argues that this distinction between a masked Goblin and an unmasked Goblin will actually be crucial to the biggest twists of the film and could subvert assumptions fans already have about No Way Home.

Three Key Scenes Point to Where Norman Osborne Strikes: The Bridge, Statue of Liberty, and FEAST

Voss lays out at least three sequences where Osborne plays a big role. He attacks the bridge from his glider fully suited up, cackling and tossing pumpkin grenades. He also appears during a nighttime Statue of Liberty battle unmasked, using razor bats, and Voss ties this to the same night because there is a full moon visible both in that shot and in the shot of Peter landing on the statue. The third sequence involves an attack on a building that, based on a truck parked out front, is likely FEAST, the homeless outreach organization where Aunt May and Peter work, matching Peter's frantic sprint through the FEAST cafeteria in his black suit from the first trailer. In the newer trailer, Voss points out Peter lunging after a green Goblin grenade in the FEAST lobby, green fire exploding on fuselage outside, and Aunt May running toward the lobby door holding a metallic cylindrical object with a subtle green glow, which Voss guesses could be a vial of Oscorp's serum.

Why the Unmasked Glider Rider Is Definitely Willem Dafoe, Not Harry Osborne

Voss says it is safe to assume the unmasked nighttime glider shot is meant to be Willem Dafoe, even though the face looks younger and smoother, because there is clear motion blur suggesting VFX animation, and the nose and chin are unmistakably Dafoe's. He does not rule out other Goblins from the Spider-Verse, like James Franco's Harry Osborne or Dane DeHaan's Harry Osborne, showing up, but does not think they would be revealed this way, and feels those cameos might take away from Dafoe's return. I agreed with the doubt about other Goblins appearing, and pointed out the screen is already full with five or six villains, saying "that's just too much," while Cindel raised the James Franco issue directly, noting Disney's reluctance to touch that.

Secrecy Defined Sam Raimi's Goblin, and It Could Explain Why He Finally Drops the Mask

Voss finds it interesting that Goblin is masked during the bridge attack but goes maskless with only flight goggles in the final act, unlike other new villains such as Doc Ock and Electro who have no masks, or Lizard and Sandman whose monstrous forms are hard to hide. He draws on Raimi's first Spider-Man film, where Norman Osborne parallels Peter Parker by trying to maintain a secret double identity, referencing the Thanksgiving turkey carving scene where Norman first suspects Peter is Spider-Man from a cut on his arm, while Peter still does not know Norman is Goblin. Even after Norman's death, his identity as Goblin stays secret, known only to Peter, per Norman's dying wish, "don't tell Harry," with Harry not learning the truth until the end of the second film. Voss argues secrecy and deceit are key to this version of Green Goblin and will play a huge role in the second act, explaining both how Norman becomes tied to FEAST and why he eventually stops caring about masking himself in the final act.

Could Norman Osborne Be Posing as a Homeless Resident at FEAST?

Voss speculates Norman Osborne may be posing as a homeless resident at FEAST, which would explain Peter's frantic cafeteria sprint in the first trailer, realizing someone he sees every day is the same person trying to kill him. He ties this back to Far From Home's opening act, which spent real time on the homeless outreach efforts by Peter, Aunt May, and Happy Hogan, who brought in a large check from Stark Industries signed by Pepper Potts. Voss thinks all of that was setting up a tragic irony where those efforts get exploited by Norman Osborne to get close to Peter and his loved ones.

Police Lights and a Set of Rings Suggest Aunt May Survives an Explosion, at Least at First

Voss notices red and blue lights flashing on the walls in the shot of Aunt May running through the lobby with the green object, suggesting police and media have already arrived, and floats the idea of a hostage situation where Sandman and Electro keep police and media busy outside while something else happens inside the shelter, with Aunt May possibly a hostage rushing out with something like a vial of nerve gas. I was genuinely surprised by that level of detail, telling him, "I wouldn't have even thought about that," and admitting, "you really did connect those dots." On the bigger fear that Aunt May might die, Voss points to Peter's face looking bruised and ashy with frazzled hair in a shot that looks like it comes after an explosion, and a woman wearing rings whose hand and hair also look like they were near an explosion, matching the same rings Aunt May wears in the running shot, which leads Voss to conclude she survives at least one explosion. I called that ring level of analysis "wild," but personally I still think Aunt May is going to die in this movie, guessing it will be one of the big costs Peter pays for altering the timeline, especially since the movie never actually showed Uncle Ben die on screen.

Piecing Together the Bombing Sequence at FEAST

Voss tries to sequence the destruction: a green explosion that looks like a car bomb, likely an NYPD patrol car since backup has not yet arrived in the wide shot, happens first outside the building, collapsing an overhang and filling the lobby Aunt May was running through, which she could survive, before the already damaged building is hit again by a second pumpkin grenade that Peter lunges for. The real question Voss raises is whether the shot of Aunt May's hand on Peter's chest happens before or after that second grenade, which determines whether she is still at risk. He is also unsettled by a shot of Peter sitting in a car as SWAT laser scopes pass him approaching the bombed out lobby, looking terrified that May might be dead, though Voss notes Peter could also be the target of the car bomb himself, and adds that the green fireball almost looks shaped like a person, calling the idea of the movie going that violent "pretty insane."

Green Goblin's Voiceover Suggests He's Testing Peter, and an Old Mentor Might Have to Step In

Voss highlights Willem Dafoe's voice saying, "you're struggling to have everything you want while the world tries to make you choose," rasped as if Peter has his hands around Goblin's throat, which could only happen if Goblin's helmet is already off, something Voss says Goblin would not mind since showing his face is part of his "sick game," adding lines like being "the guy you handed a plate of food to" and telling Peter to "give up trying to save anyone at all." Voss argues this Goblin is in the movie primarily to test Peter Parker, which is why an older mentor figure will matter so much. I had assumed that mentor role would go to Happy Hogan, but landed on Ant-Man instead, reasoning that Scott Lang has not had a major personal loss in this era outside of Tony Stark's death, which we agreed already functions as close to an Uncle Ben moment for Peter, tying back to the glasses subplot in Far From Home.

Debating Whether Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man Survives No Way Home

Beyond the Goblin theory, we spent time wondering what conversations Peter Parker might have with Andrew Garfield's and Tobey Maguire's Spider-Men, saying those quieter moments intrigue me more than the action. On whether one of them dies, I guessed Maguire's version might not make it, while Cindel leaned toward Garfield's Spider-Man sacrificing himself to save MJ, and we both referenced DC's Flashpoint killing off multiple versions of the Flash as a precedent for trimming a crowded multiverse. We also joked about Maguire's age, guessing he is around 46, and floated the idea of a Logan style send off if either Spider-Man does not return.

Do you think Aunt May survives the FEAST explosion, or is her death the cost Peter pays for changing the timeline?