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Sam Raimi’sSpider-Manwill always be hailed as the movie that laid the groundwork for future comic book movies to come and dominate the box office. Having redefined the superhero genre, the film proved that the genre was well deserving of being explored and achieving critical and commercial success.
It has been more than two decades since the movie was released, yet footage and BTS scenes from the film continue to make rounds on the internet. Recently, a newly reshared video features the test footage of Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin’s initial look, and fans claim they were robbed ofgreatness.
Test Footage From Sam Raimi’sSpider-ManFeaturing Green Goblin Goes Viral
Sam Raimi‘sSpider-Man(2002) was and is one of the best comic book movies ever to be made. StarringTobey Maguireas the iconic web-slinger, the movie foreverchanged the face of superhero filmsand the box office. Credited to have played a crucial role in shaping the overall landscape of the comic book genre, the movie made a significant cultural impact and continues to influence cinema, as far as superhero flicks are concerned.
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However, it wasWillem Dafoe‘s portrayal ofGreen Goblin that stole the spotlightand is generally considered to be one portrayals of all time. Today, it is hard to imagine any other actor in the role, and his reappearance inSpider-Man: No Way Homeseemed like a full-circle moment.
Yet, despite his incredible portrayal, Green Goblin’s looks were heavily criticized, thanks to the metallic mask he wore. Initially, he was supposed to wear ananimatronic maskcreated by Amalgamated Dynamics (seeTHR). Not only did it look creepy, but it would have easily covered the range of emotions and depicted thecreepinessthat Goblin had, which can be seen from the recently viral footage of the mask.
Green Goblin animatronic test for Sam Raimi’s ‘Spider-Man’pic.twitter.com/miROecQXCp
— Marvel Facts (@MarveIFacts)July 24, 2025
Yet, Dafoe and Raimi had it changed (see THR andVariety), instead adopting thepresent designseen in the movie. As the footage from the test screening featuring the original mask went viral, fans exclaimed that the original mask was way better.
Fans Enraged As Green Goblin’s Original Mask fromSpider-ManGoes Viral
InSpider-Man: No Way Home, Green Goblin can beseen sans the maskthat many appeared to hate during his initial outing. Willem Dafoe, while conversing withVariety, remarked it was probably because of the criticism thatGreen Goblin’s maskreceived following the originalSpider-Man’srelease.
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While they made the right choice inNo Way Home, fans reckon they should have rather kept the original mask in the original movie thanks to how creepy and accurate it looked.
Looks like straight outa horror movie
— Ironman (@ironmansfc)August 23, 2025
We were robbed.
— J Moore (@JMichielM)July 23, 2025
wow, this is 100 times better than what they decided to go with
— Omer Kulaksiz (@OmerKulaksiz1)June 26, 2025
We were robbed with greatnesspic.twitter.com/Shl8SzF7QA
— Nicholas Walker (@nwalker94)June 29, 2025
Damn this was so much better. Why didn’t they use it
— CVlovesU (@CVlovesU7645)July 29, 2025
While others remarked that Willem Dafoe could have easily brought the same effect without the use of masks or prosthetics, others exclaimed the portrayal would have been 10 times better had they used the original mask.
Yet some fans were considerate of Dafoe, who probably would have had the hardest time of his life wearing the uncomfortable mask. While the past is the past and cannot be changed, fans hope that if the MCU were ever to introduce their version of Green Goblin, they adapt something similar to the initial animatronic mask.
Spider-ManandSpider-Man: Far From Homecan be streamed on Disney+.
Maria Sultan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2703
Maria Sultan is a dedicated News Content Writer at FandomWire. With over five years of professional experience and hundreds of published articles, she brings a wealth of expertise to her coverage of Marvel, K-dramas, and the latest on streaming platforms.Her work is not just about reporting news; it’s about providing insightful perspectives on the entertainment trends that matter most.
