The Green Goblin is Spider-Man's greatest enemy. He knows who he is. After kidnapping his girlfriend, Mary Jane, he then hurls her off the Roosevelt Island Bridge. Spider-Man manages to save her, but is captured by The Goblin and dragged to an abandonded building. After a vicious battle, an enraged Spider-Man beats Goblin into submission and learns his identity ... the father of his best friend Harry, Norman Osborn.
Osborn accidentally manages to kill himself in an attempt to murder Spidey, but with a last breath begs him not to "tell Harry". Out of respect for his friend Spider-Man carries Norman's body back to the mansion, but Harry witnesses this and blames Spider-Man for murdering his father.
Four the next two years, Harry steadily grows angrier, more unsteady and begins to drink too much. When an Oscorp experiment goes terribly wrong, and a brilliant scientist is transformed into the terrible Dr Octopus, Harry is driven further towards the edge. He vows vengeange on Spider-Man and strikes a deal with Octavius to provide precious materials in exchange for the wall-crawler. He wants to kill him personally. But when he removes Spidey's mask he, of course, sees its his long time friend, Peter. Harry is devastated and in complete schock, but lets Peter go in order to save MJ from the clutches of Doc Ock.
Now, teetering on the edge, a drunken, distraught Harry is confronted by his father's "ghost" in a mirror. Norman tells him he is weak, and that he will always be, until he learns to take control. Harry throws a knife into the mirror, shattering it to reveal... a secret Goblin Lair. Inside he finally discovers the truth of what his father really was. He finds the Goblin mask, pumpkin bombs, and a glider. He also discovers vials of the performance enhancing serum that turned his father into The Green Goblin.
When next we see Harry at MJ's wedding, he is looking noticably more confident, with an interesting smirk, and wearing a GREEN bow tie. Has he already tested the serum for himself? Looks like a clear set-up for him to take up his father's mantle as The Green Goblin in the third chapter of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man saga.
News/Rumors
"Franco gives perhaps the strongest performance in the entire film. And that's really saying something, because all of the actors are spectacular. I've never been a huge fan of his, nor have I ever had anything against him?I guess he's just never stood out one way or the other to me. But in Spider-Man 3, Franco steals the show. The character of Harry Osbourne goes through so many emotional changes, and Franco delivers. He provides the biggest laughs of the movie, the biggest gasps, and the most tears. He's just incredible. I can't say enough. There is a scene in a coffee shop where Harry flashes an evil grin at Peter, and it sends chills down your spine." AICN
The New Goblin
Years of rumors and speculation about Harry Osborn's dark destiny have become more clear with the launch of the new Spider-Man 3 Website. Sony and early publicity materials are referring to his character as "The New Goblin".
While its a bit of a relief that they didn't reject the comic lore and go with "Hobgoblin", or "Night Surfer" or have him make more villains, or worse, just forgive and forget, the whole thing has a bit of a "Coke Classic/New Coke feel". I still wish they would have improved the original costume and mask and had Harry come back as The Green Goblin, totally messing with Peter at first, making him think Norman was back from the dead.
The new suit is not bad, just not very "gobliny" and the mask makes him look like one of those green doo doo flies. But ... after seeing the new footage from Japan that included an awesome shot of Daddy-Gobby in the mirror (Yea! Defoe is back!) and reading a description of the best fight in the series yet, the aerial battle we've all called for, things are looking up. Harry's got his own super-cool profile on the new site.
A description of the battle between Gobby 2 and Peter Parker...
The next sequence was by far the best fight out of all the films. Peter is riding on his scooter when all of a sudden, Harry Osborn snatches Peter up into the sky on his flying jet propelled snow board. They battle it out above and though the city, never once allowing the audience to breathe. Harry blames Peter for his father's death and launches Peter deep into a brick building. They break away still fighting when Peter then gets tossed in a window and then out. The fight continues with a chase down between the buildings where we get to see the pumkin grenades, that sounded so very cool when they are activated. Peter even states "I hate those things" and is able to use his webbing and fling one back at Harry, piercing him in the shoulder. The fight is stopped when Peter uses his web to clothes line Harry, which drops his head onto a pipe, then bouncing off a dumpster and finally landing in the alley. Peter yells to Harry to see if he is concious. When he doesn't move, Peter performs CPR screaming out Harry's name.
That does sound pretty cool!
He looks cool as an individual idea. But again, nothing remotely goblin like about him except the weapons, glider and some green on him. No hood, the belts hold two swords. One long one on his back, a smaller one on his right leg. Pumpkins bombs are in his glider. Goggles are black. He has a green mouthmask. Gloves are black. No idea why. Possible to make it more to his liking, a way to "improve".
Yuck!
Grandma Says its Hobgoblin ... Hunh???
According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer Grandmama Osborn, aka James Franco's real life grandmother, says she knows who her grandson is playing and its The Hobgoblin.
"Until now, the "Spider-Man 3" evolution of Harry Osborn, James Franco's character in all three Spideys, has been closely guarded by Columbia Pictures. Even the actors are under a gag order.
But Franco's grandmother, Mitzie Verne of Shaker Heights, knows what's up with No. 3. She says Franco's Osborn will take on the identity of archvillain Hob Goblin. That might be a shock to comic-book loyalists, because in print, Harry became the second Green Goblin."
Harry: Friend or Foe? IESB
The latest news, most detailed, news so far about whether Harry Osborn will follow in his father's footsteps. An anonomous, but "reliable source" had this to say to IESB...
"Rob, all the assumptions that Harry Osborn is the third villain the Hobgoblin are all wrong. Spiderman finds himself out numbered in this one. When everything seems to be at its worst for our hero, he finds himself an unlikely ally, Harry Osborn. Peter Parker's best friend will come to his aide. ..."
We will see Harry battling his inner demons to make the choice between his father's legacy and his best friend. I will fill you in more later but gotta go, crew call in 10 minutes, Sam doesn't like it when anyones late! Holla, Peace..."
So maybe he still does go goblin and helps Spidey in the end and is redeemed.
A whole lot of Goblin buzz surrounds James Franco's movie releases of Triste and Isolde and Annapolis...
More Evidence Harry will go Goblin
Makeup artist mentions Spidey 3.
Designed and created the make-up concept and appliances for James Franco in "Spiderman 3" to be applied by Luisa Abel.
Harry to the Dark Side? MTV
Franco offers more clues in latest interview...
"The second film suggests that I'm going to a dark place," the ruggedly handsome, grinning actor admitted. "I think people will be a little bit surprised about what happens..."
Harry to become more "Villainous"? IESB
James Franco spoke about the beginning of principal photography for Spider-Man 3 and when probed about goblin questions he simply shrugged and smiled. The video interview is here.
"He also mentioned that principal filming will begin next week. The big question that most fan boys want to know is if Harry will indeed get to wear his daddy's armor and become the dreaded Hob Goblin "
Update iFMagazine
"You have to do wire work and all of that stuff, but the experience of getting into character is the same," says Franco. "Yes, it's a comic book, but the people in Spider-Man aren't acting like they're in a comic book. They're acting like they're in the real world..."
Franco: See, that's a- - I obviously can't talk about it but it's weird. Everyone asks me about the Hobgoblin because actually Harry Osborn never became the Hobgoblin. He became the second Green Goblin. But I think Marvel and Sam and everybody, they're not going to be obvious about it.
"Um," Franco pauses. "Nobody has a script yet so...
James Franco on Spidey 3 : Comics Continuum
Asked whether he would become the next-generation Goblin, he said. "That's what happens in the comics, but I don't think Sam will be predictable anyway. Who knows what's going to happen in number three?"
I'm sure when I'm playing the goblin, I'm out there- - or if I play, whatever happens. No, honestly, I don't know what happens in the third one. I don't. You can say I'm playing the goblin but you're going to be wrong.
James Franco on playing The Goblin : Movieweb
"Did you talk to Willem Dafoe about having to take over his role if The Green Goblin were to come back? I'll tell you this. I just worked with Nic Cage and we were talking about it and I said, "Well maybe I'm going to have to play the Green Goblin, what do you think?" And Nicolas gave me this great move if it came about. [James claps twice, spins around and shakes his butt.] So, maybe that's what I'll do if I ever do it"
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