Willem Dafoe portrayed Norman Osborn for director Sam Raimi.

Spider-Noir star Nicolas Cage explains why he passed on playing Green Goblin in first Spider-Man movie

Willem Dafoe portrayed Norman Osborn for director Sam Raimi.

By Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence is a former associate editor at **. He left EW in 2022.

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May 27, 2026 3:53 p.m. ET

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Nicolas Cage; Willem Dafoe in 'Spider-Man'. Credit:

Jason Mendez/Getty; Zade Rosenthal/Columbia

- Nicolas Cage passed on starring as the Green Goblin in *Spider-Man*.

- Willem Dafoe ended up taking on the role in the hit film.

- Cage is now leading Prime Video's *Spider-Noir*.

If you thought WIllem Dafoe went for it as the Green Goblin, then just imagine the bonkers performance that Nicolas Cage would have given.

The Oscar-winning actor can now be seen starring as a grizzled, aging version of Spider-Man in the new *Spider-Noir* series. But Cage has revealed that he initially was sought for the antagonist role in director Sam Raimi's 2002 *Spider-Man* film.

"Sam and I had a great lunch, and I did say during the lunch, 'Listen: whoever plays Spider-Man, let them do one scene where they’re crawling around like a spider when they’re alone,' and it didn’t happen," Cage shared with *Variety*. "He wanted me to do the Green Goblin. I liked the idea of Sam Raimi, because of *Evil Dead 1* and *2*, and I wanted to work with him."

Nicolas Cage on 'Spider-Noir'.

Courtesy of Prime Video

Cage explained that, like when he passed on the iconic comedy *Dumb & Dumber*, there was another golden opportunity that he couldn't pass up.

"I had this other film called *Adaptation*," he said of the 2002 meta dramedy. "It happened with Jim [Carrey] and *Dumb and Dumber*, and I said, 'I’m going to do this other film called *Leaving Las Vegas*,’ and with Sam, I told him, 'I’m going to do *Adaptation*.' Both those decisions were the right ones for me, and I’m happy with those results."

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It's a fair feeling for Cage to have, considering he won the Oscar for Best Actor for *Leaving Las Vegas*, and then was Oscar-nominated for *Adaptation*. Written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Spike Jonze, *Adaptation* starred Cage in the dual roles of Kaufman and his fictional twin brother Donald, as the former struggles with writer's block.

Cage passing also worked out fine for Raimi. Released in 2002, *Spider-Man* scored what was then the highest-grossing opening weekend of all time. And Dafoe turned in a memorable version of Norman Osborn, a wealthy scientist who turns into the villain Green Goblin. Dafoe returned for cameos in the two sequels, as well as 2021's *Spider-Man: No Way Home*.

All eight episodes of *Spider-Noir* are streaming on Prime Video.

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Source: “EW Superhero”