CHRIS COOPER is NORMAN OSBORN in THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2

With all the casting hype dying down recently and filming already underway, the role of Norman Osborn was seemingly forgotten by fans.  That all changed today, when The Hollywood Reporter broke the news of an actor signing on to portray Norman on screen.

Chris Cooper (American Beauty, The Bourne Identity) has signed on to play Spider-Man’s arch nemesis Norman Osborn.  Variety initially broke the story, but wasn’t sure which character he would be playing.  If he does make the turn to the Green Goblin in this movie, then that would be three villains (that we know of) for Spider-Man to fight.  Jamie Foxx as Electro and Paul Giamatti as The Rhino being the other two.

In comics lore, Norman Osborn is the father of Harry Osborn (Peter Parker’s best friend) and the owner/founder of Oscorp.  Norman goes off the deep end and uses some of the secret formula he has been working on, and turns himself into the Green Goblin.  The Green Goblin is one of Spider-Man’s most fierce villains.

In The Amazing Spider-Man™ 2, for Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), life is busy – between taking out the bad guys as Spider-Man and spending time with the person he loves, Gwen (Emma Stone), high school graduation can’t come quickly enough.  Peter hasn’t forgotten about the promise he made to Gwen’s father to protect her by staying away – but that’s a promise he just can’t keep.  Things will change for Peter when a new villain, Electro (Jamie Foxx), emerges, an old friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), returns, and Peter uncovers new clues about his past.

The film is directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci & Jeff Pinkner, with a previous draft by James Vanderbilt, and based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach are the producers.