Spider-Man: No Way Home Star Tom Holland Reveals How They Kept Willem Dafoe’s Role a Secret

Spider-Mn: No Way Home‘s Tom Holland actually revealed how they managed to keep Willem Dafoe’s role a secret until the trailer came out. During the massive Los Angeles fan event for the clip, the Spider-Man actor said that the directors employed some long black cloaks to help shield Jamie Foxx, Alfred Molina, and Dafoe from the public eye. It’s become a natural technique for creative teams on blockbuster movies. People want any and all information about their favorite films, so to avoid spoilers, you have to rush people into their scenes away from the leering gaze of photographers and other media. Clearly, it worked for some members of the film. (Poor Molina ended up giving an interview that spoiled his involvement. But, some of the others managed to escape relatively unscathed.) Now, everyone is excited to see what one of Spider-Man’s most legendary enemies can do against a much younger version of his nemesis.

“It’s actually a funny story when I met Willem for the first time. Obviously, at that time, all of the villains in the film, it was a huge secret that they were in the film. So they would walk around set with these cloaks on. Naturally, these guys were very excited to be coming back and bringing these roles back to life,” Holland revealed. “I just sort of bumped into this guy in a cloak. I was like, ‘Watch out, mate.’ He took his cloak off, and I almost got really scared — Oh shit, the Goblin’s here.”

Holland also spoke to Total Film about the other two cameos that fans are dying to see. He’s begging them to believe him that he’s the only Spider-Man in this movie.

“People don’t believe me when I say that [Maguire and Garfield] are not coming back. But people are going to have to believe me at some point,” he mused. “It means a lot to me. The first time you see Doc and the rest of the characters that come back, it’s so exciting – and it’s such a huge moment in cinematic history. It’s three generations coming together.”

“It was interesting having those guys come in because they have a certain ownership over Spider-Man in their own way, and…” Holland would continue. “I’m talking about Alfred and Jamie and those guys. To see Alfred come in, and have to adapt and change to the way that the films are made, but also change director, and also [the fact that] I’m now Spider-Man. It was really interesting to see these actors adapt and change what they were doing to fit the modern era.”

Are you excited to see Dafoe’s goblin back? Let us know in the comments!