It is time for the Marvel Cinematic Universe's real Norman Osborn to appear after announcing a Spider-Man: No Way Home that Willem Dafoe introduced Green Goblin to the MCU.
Even though Norman Osborn appeared in an MCU movie, the multiverse plot of Spider-Man: No Way Home meant Willem Dafoe was not from the MCU's Earth-616. He instead came from Sam Raimi's original Spider-Man trilogy universe before he died and returned there at the end. However, Green Goblin's role still included a tease that the MCU's Norman Osborn, aka Green Goblin, could still exist. Some might argue Dafoe's incredible return killed any hope of the MCU rebooting Green Goblin with a new actor, but Marvel Studios' plans for Thunderbolts mean the MCU needs to introduce the real Norman Osborn.
Part of Norman Osborn's notable comic storyline includes him playing a major role with the Thunderbolts. This includes becoming the director of the Thunderbolts after the government took control of the villain team and eventually assembling a new Thunderbolts team as part of Dark Reign. It is not yet confirmed exactly how Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts movie will shape up and what form the team will take, but it would be a missed opportunity to not include Norman Osborn in some form. Whether the team operates as Marvel's version of the Suicide Squad or more of an evil Dark Avengers, the MCU's real Norman Osborn can easily fit.
Marvel's Thunderbolts movie team appears to revolve around a group of villains and anti-heroes that are dark mirrors of major MCU characters. Yelena Belova will be the Black Widow stand-in, Abomination can replace Hulk, and US Agent is already a more violent Captain America. If an evil Avengers lineup is really what Marvel Studios is going for, then an Iron Man replacement is needed too. Norman Osborn as Iron Patriot in Thunderbolts would be the perfect way to do this, possibly even building off the storylines of Secret Invasion and Armor Wars. In such a scenario, Norman Osborn can be the billionaire helping fund the team while having much more selfish intentions than Tony Stark ever did.
Of course, there are plenty of other ways for Norman Osborn to fit in an MCU Thunderbolts movie. He can be the "Nick Fury" of the Thunderbolts and run the team from the shadows, while Marvel could even position Green Goblin as the villain. All of this would be very different from Willem Dafoe's interpretation of the iconic Marvel villain too, which could make it easier for audiences to buy a new take on a character they just saw in 2021. If the MCU has any ambitions of telling a Dark Reign-style story, introducing the MCU's real Norman Osborn in Thunderbolts would be a great way to do that.
