Why is James Franco trending all of a sudden?
James Franco is very much alive and well. He didn’t do anything bad. It’s just that he’s become the latest punching bag for a bunch of bored online denizens. Franco started trending after Disney released the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer. Obviously, the internet couldn’t contain its excitement after seeing Alfred Molina reprise his iconic role as Doc Ock from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2. However, the more observant fans knew that Molina’s Doc Ock wasn’t the only one that appeared in the trailer. Although his face wasn’t explicitly shown, we know enough from the trailer to expect Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin in the final film. It’s hard to mistake that laugh of his for someone else’s. Plus, that Pumpkin Bomb dropping in the middle of a busy street looks a lot like his M.O.. With that said, some people, for whatever reason, just couldn’t help but throw James Franco’s name into the mix, either as a joke or because they genuinely believe that he’ll appear in the film.
Is James Franco going to be in No Way Home?
The last time that we saw James Franco in a Spider-Man film was back in the 2000s. He played the role of Harry Osborn, the best friend of Toby Maguire’s Peter Parker and the former love interest of Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane Watson. He later took on the mantle of Green Goblin after finding out that his father, Norman Osborn (played by Willem Dafoe) died at the hands of Spider-Man. Both Dafoe’s and Franco’s characters from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films died by the end of the first and third films, respectively. With that said, it’s important to remember that these Spider-Man movies aren’t part of the MCU. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Dafoe’s Green Goblin could still be very much alive. As for why we think that it’s not James Franco, do you really believe that Disney will do something to jeopardize their brand? Franco’s reputation has soured in the last few years to the point that Seth Rogen refuses to work with him. So, who exactly is the one that says “Be careful what you wish for Peter” that people are saying is James Franco? Honestly, we don’t know. One guess is that the voice belongs to Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange. From what we’ve learned in the trailer, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker finds his life is an utter mess after Mysterio revealed his identity at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home. Because he can no longer hide under a mask, Peter enlists Strange’s help to make everyone forget that Peter is Spider-Man. But, of course, nothing in life is ever so simple, and Peter soon finds out just how much worse his life is now. With so much mystery surrounding No Way Home, it’s no wonder fans can hardly contain their excitement. The good news is that No Way Home is set to premiere on December 16, 2021, so the wait isn’t for too long.
