Willem Dafoe loved returning as Norman Osborn in Spider-Man. However, Dafoe's impact is not just down to the antagonistic side of the Green Goblin, but also the more humane side of Norman Osborn.
Throughout Dafoe's several appearances as Norman Osborn and the Green Goblin over the years, there has always been a Jekyll and Hyde persona between the two characters. This has always been a highlight to see play out onscreen, as Dafoe switches from one character to the next. The fearful expression on Norman's face as he hears and sees the sadistic Goblin personality reflect through him is terrifying. His return in No Way Home capitalizes on this, as there is a stronger emphasis on this divide between the Osborn/Goblin dynamic. The Green Goblin and Norman Osborn may have their evil sides, but Norman is not the villain in No Way Home. Norman's innocence being depicted differently in this movie shows how different he is from the Goblin. Norman is more confused than ever as he is transported to a universe he doesn't recognize, a place where his son and company do not exist.
Before Spider-Man: No Way Home was released, Willem Dafoe did an interview with Green Goblin change was important so the character could fit better into the MCU but also show how drastic the difference is between Norman Osborn and the Green Goblin
Why No Way Home Choosing Green Goblin As Its Villain Was So Smart
In Spider-Man: No Way Home, audiences got to see a scared Norman Osborn navigate his way through a new universe while also interacting with people he didn't expect to, such as a Peter Parker and MJ Watson that he didn't recognize. But he also learned that someone else was living in his home. The gut-wrenching aspect of it all was that his son Harry and Oscorp apparently don't exist in this universe, leaving him feeling more lost than ever. Getting to see a softer side of Norman Osborn made the Goblin reveal all the more shocking, as it wasn't expected and managed to be downright terrifying. Up until this point, it wasn't clear who the main villain of the film even was, so this twist was a perfect example of why the Green Goblin should have been the main villain.
Norman Osborn used to be a man who was invested in his company and cared about his son; he just didn't show it in a very loving way. Seeing him lose all of that in Spider-Man: No Way Home humanizes Norman significantly more and makes his evil turn heartbreaking because viewers understand who Osborn really is, and he is not a killer. The Green Goblin taking over his mind once again may not have been entirely surprising due to previous experiences. Norman got a chance for redemption when Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man saved him. It didn't only fix his Peter's mistake; it fixed the Green Goblin's original ending from Spider-Man. Norman Osborn got a chance to live with what he had done instead of dying for it, which showed he really was better than the Goblin.
