Most of the ongoing Amazing Spider-Man 2 discussion here at Screen Rant of late has been less focused on Peter Parker's (Andrew Garfield) plight within the film, and more on how the sequel will flesh out the universe established in the first Amazing Spider-Man installment; that is, via the introduction of new antagonists and shadowy institutions that will become more relevant and central to the overarching narrative in the third and fourth movies (both of which already have official release dates).

In addition, director Marc Webb's sequel will pick up the biggest thread (no pun intended) that was still dangling by his previous superhero film's conclusion: the deteriorating health of the Oscorp Industries founder, Norman Osborn. Not to mention, whether or not Dr. Curt Connors' newly-gained advancements in human-animal gene splicing will be enough to prolong his (ex?) bosses life.

Oscar-winner Chris Cooper, who plays the ailing Osborn in the Amazing Spider-Man sequel, made a brief appearance during the sizzle reel footage unveiled during the film's panel at the 2013 International Comic-Con in San Diego. However, in the actor's interview with Access Hollywood at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival - which he attended in order to promote the awards-friendly August: Osage County play adaptation - Cooper sheds more light on what to expect from his role in Spidey's new adventure. To quote him directly:

"['Amazing Spider-Man 2'] is an introduction to Norman Osborn, and, apparently, this leads to better things in 'Spider-Man 3'. I think it's fair to say that he's on his last legs and I don't know if I can say anything more."

Norman's bed-ridden status in the 'Con trailer, when considered in combination with rumors about his playboy son Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) being the one who is enhanced with Green Goblin powers in the sequel, seemed to suggest that his father's untimely demise - which Peter theoretically might've been able to prevent (just add that extra heaping of drama on top) - could be the tragedy that pushes Harry to become a super-villain in Amazing Spider-Man 3 (and beyond). It would seem that we can discount at least part of that scenario now, based on Cooper's indication that Norman will still be alive and kicking by the time the end credits start rolling on Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Ultimate Green Goblin - Amazing Spider-Man 2

Admittedly, it is a bit difficult to envision the 62-year old Cooper with spiky Goblin hair or donning a Power Rangers-esque getup similar to Willem Dafoe's Goblin costume from the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy (then again the actor did perform a rap number in The Muppets). That doesn't rule out the possibility of Cooper transforming into a more purely animalistic Goblin, like in the Ultimate Spider-Man animated cartoon series; that is, along the lines of Connors' Lizard form in the first Amazing Spider-Man installment.

Either way, the suggestion that Webb's Amazing Spider-Man 2 won't mark the last (or, rather, only) time we see Cooper as Norman Osborn makes sense, based on the director's previous comments to us - with regard to how the movie will go about structuring and further mapping out the Spidey world:

“... Part of the fundamental concepts, the conceit of the universe that we’re making is that it started… in that first movie we tease up, for example, Norman Osborn. He was an entity, he was around but you didn’t see him onscreen. That allows you to unfold stories over a longer period of time and so you can create a sort of nuanced and complex world… "

Amazing Spider-Man 2 will introduce the aforementioned new onscreen versions of Norman and Harry Osborn, in addition to mystery characters played by actresses Felicity Jones and Sarah Gadon, as well as Jamie Foxx as the electrician-turned supervillain Max Dillon/Electro and Paul Giamatti as the Russian bruiser Aleksei Sytsevich/Rhino. However, with the exception of Harry and Electro, all of these new character additions are expected to keep relatively quiet in the background in order to lay the groundwork for developments in the future - the most intriguing being a potential Sinister Six appearance; which, in the past, Webb has teased as being a legitimate possibility for down the line. "Better things," indeed.

Drop us a line in the comments and let us know your own theories about Norman Osborn in Amazing Spider-Man 2 & 3.

_____

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opens in U.S. theaters on May 2nd, 2014, followed by The Amazing Spider-Man 3 on June 10th, 2016 and The Amazing Spider-Man 4 - which may not be a straight-forward Spider-Man sequel - on May 4th, 2018.

Source: Access Hollywood