Alfred Molina Reprising Role as Doctor Octopus in Tom Holland’s ‘Spider-Man 3’

Alfred Molina is returning to the Spidey-verse. The actor, who portrayed the evil Doctor Octopus in Tobey Maguire’s 2004 “Spider-Man” sequel, is reprising his role for the third installment of the Tom Holland-led superhero blockbuster.

The upcoming web-slinging adventure is expected to feature multiple generations of “Spider-Man” actors. As previously reported, Jamie Foxx will appear as Electro, a villain he first played alongside Andrew Garfield in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.”

“Spider-Man 3” will also include Marvel Cinematic Universe crossovers: Benedict Cumberbatch is making an appearance as Doctor Strange in the next entry.

Director Jon Watts is returning for the third “Spider-Man,” with Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers writing the script. Zendaya, Marisa Tomei and Jacob Batalon are all reprising their roles from the first two Holland-led “Spider-Man” films. Sony plans to release the film on Dec. 17, 2021.

Holland’s first solo outing as Spidey was in 2017’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” In between, he appeared in multiple “Avengers” movies before returning to the spotlight in 2019’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” His stag ventures were enormous financial successes, with the first generating more than $880 million globally and the second surpassing the coveted $1 billion milestone. The latter ranks as the highest-grossing “Spider-Man” film of all time.

Before Holland put on the red and blue suit, Maguire portrayed Spider-Man from 2001-2007 in director Sam Raimi’s acclaimed comic book trilogy. Garfield then assumed the suit for a separate stint in 2012’s “The Amazing Spider-Man” and the 2014 sequel, both directed by Marc Webb. Holland’s character is the only version to appear in the Disney-owned Marvel Cinematic Universe.