Ever since the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Spider-Man: No Way Home was confirmed to be leaning on the multiverse when Jamie Foxx’s Electro was announced to be returning, the only villain to have ever appeared in any of the previous seven live-action blockbusters that hasn’t been linked with a comeback is James Franco’s Harry Osborn, which is probably to do with the sexual misconduct allegations hanging over the actor’s head.
Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus has since revealed his involvement, but there’s been no word on Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn, Dane DeHaan’s Harry Osborn, Thomas Haden Church’s Sandman, Rhys Ifans’ Curt Connors, Paul Giamatti’s Rhino, Jake Gyllenhaal’s Quentin Beck or Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes as of yet. However, a new rumor is claiming that the latter is signed on for an appearance, and this is far from the first time we’ve heard something similar.
The veteran star was busy shooting action thriller The Protégé and Hulu miniseries Dopesick before heading across the pond to reprise the role of Bruce Wayne in The Flash through the entirety of Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s production, though, so scheduling conflicts might well have been an issue given that Jon Watts’ threequel shot in Atlanta and Keaton’s 2020 took him to Bucharest, London, Da Nang and Virginia among others.
Homecoming did reveal that the former Vulture was alive and well behind bars, while he was also a major surprise at the end of the first Morbius trailer to start planting the seeds of a connection between the MCU and the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters, so he’s certainly one of the more likely candidates to make a comeback, but there’s been so much speculation surrounding cameos and guest stars that it’s difficult to separate fact from fiction.