Matthew McConaughey has come close to joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe on a couple of occasions, most notably when he turned down the role of the villainous Ego in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which led to Kurt Russell getting the part instead. You could easily imagine the Academy Award winner playing the character, though, given that both he and Russell are undeniably charming and charismatic actors more than capable of portraying individuals with a dark side.
Of course, there were reports making the rounds last year that Marvel were going to try and secure his services once again, and the latest rumor is that the former shirtless rom-com fixture turned acclaimed dramatic talent is being eyed for the part of Norman Osborn in Spider-Man 3. The head of Oscorp has been frequently linked with debuting in the MCU, and given his connections to the web-slinging superhero, it would make perfect sense for him to show up as an adversary of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker.
That being said, Osborn has also been one of the many names touted to be the franchise’s next Thanos-level threat, while there’s also a chance that Sony could play hardball in leasing the rights to the character to Marvel Studios, when they’re clearly planning on the SPUoMC building to a Sinster Six movie in which the Green Goblin would presumably have a massive part.
There already seems to be enough going on in Spider-Man 3 anyway without throwing Norman Osborn into the mix, following the potentially game-changing news that Jamie Foxx would be back as The Amazing Spider-Man 2‘s Electro, while the involvement of Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange looks to be pointing in the direction of a live-action Spider-Verse. As such, we’d advise taking this rumor with a pinch of salt for now. Still, there’s no denying that McConaughey would be a great choice for the role.
