Spider-Man: Tom Holland Says CG Gave Alfred Molina Freedom on No Way Home Set

For the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home, actor Alfred Molina will return to the part of Doctor Otto Octavius after seventeen years since he first appeared on screen in 2004’s . In the time since Sam Raimi’s sequel was filmed however the state of superhero movies has changed drastically not only in terms of their stature in pop culture but in how they’re created. Speaking on the latest episode of Hot Ones (the show with hot questions and even hotter wings), current Spider-Man Tom Holland opened up about working with Molina on the movie and how the advances in technology changed things for Molina’s process on set.

“Obviously when he was making the film, I think it was 2002 maybe, his arms, his robotic arms were puppets,” Holland said. “They were like real tangible things and they would have a guy on each one and they would puppeteer them while he was performing. So he had to work in tandem with the other four guys. On this film obviously technology has advanced, CG has become so prevalent in these films, so it was amazing seeing him have a bit more freedom on set with the way he could move without having to rely on other people.”

He continued, “We have this thing called a toothpick rig which is like a long bar, almost like a crane, with a platform on one end and weights on the other, and they put him on that crane so they can move him around so it looks like the arms are carrying him. He loved it, he absolutely loved it. But the funny thing is you’d be talking to him and he’d be attached to the rig and because he has no control over where he goes he’d be talking to you and he would suddenly like disappear….It was a privilege to get to work with Alfred he was a good guy, I really liked working with him.”

To his credit, Molina addressed the advances in technology and how they effected his screen presence as well, previously saying: “When the idea was first suggested I my first thought was, ‘Hang on, I’m 17 years older. I’ve got chins; I’ve got wrinkles. What are they going to do?’ Then, of course, I suddenly realized, wait a minute, they’ve got the technology, this isn’t going to be a problem. But it’s been very nice to come back to something that, as you know, is familiar but at the same time completely new. The technology has moved on phenomenally since in the last couple of decades, you know, and so it’s kind of still exciting.”

Joining Holland and Molina in the new movie will be Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange and returning cast members Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, and Marisa Tomei, plus other former Spider-Man stars Jamie Foxx as Electro and Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin.

Spider-Man: No Way Home will debut exclusively in theaters on December 17.