The Scorecard Review news
News: Chris Cooper has been cast as Norman Osborn in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Thoughts by TSR: In The Amazing Spider-Man we learned that Oscorp's Norman Osborn is suffering from some sort of terminal illness. Between that and the fact that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will be introducing us to a new Harry Osborn (Chronicle’s Dane DeHaan), it was only a matter of time until some notable actor took over the role Willem Dafoe played in Sam Raimi’s films. The Hollywood Reporter tells us that it will be Chris Cooper. Part of me hopes Cooper plays Osborn the same way he played Tex Richman in The Muppets. Actually, all of me hopes that. THR says it’s unclear if he’ll turn into the Green Goblin in this film, but my (uninformed) money is on no. Assuming he eventually does, though, there will be plenty of opportunities for him to “Maniacal laugh, maniacal laugh!”
Seriously, Cooper feels like a good choice for this role, both as a mentor to Peter Parker and as a villain. Plus, I buy him being related to Dane DeHaan. Despite the presence of Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, I didn’t like The Amazing Spider-Man much at all. With that in mind, I’m feeling weirdly optimistic about Marc Webb’s sequel. The new additions to the cast have been very promising, but I hope there isn’t too much going on. In addition to Cooper, we have Jamie Foxx as Electro, Paul Giamatti showing up in some capacity as Rhino, Felicity Jones in an unknown role, and the introductions of Harry Osborn and Mary Jane Watson (Shailene Woodley). That seems like a lot to handle, especially considering there is plenty of stuff from the first film left to deal with – Peter's parents, for example. Still, against my better judgment, I’m once again looking forward to the new Spider-Man movie. Make it happen, Mr. Webb.