Willem Dafoe Discusses His Role In Sam Raimi Spider-Man Films, Justice League, And Difference Between Comic Book Films And Others

Willem Dafoe has starred in many roles over his vast career, but comic book adaptations such as Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man and Spider-Man 3, and his current role in the upcoming Justice League films are a slightly more recent addition to his filmography. Dafoe has been in such films as Boondock Saints, Boondock Saints II, Platoon, and almost every film by Director Wes Anderson. According to The Playlist, Willem Dafoe explained the difference between some of the lower budget independent films he has done versus the comic book blockbusters like the Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films, and the future Justice League film he has yet to be in.

“Every movie is different and I kind of don’t like to generalize. But clearly, the aesthetics of a movie and the way a movie is made depends on the economics of a movie. Everyone knows this. I’m not telling you anything new. The bigger the financial commitment, the more it gets controlled and the more cooks you have in the kitchen. It’s more possible to make a personal, integrated film at a lower budget because you are responsible to less people to explain to them what it is. You don’t have to be so careful and so calculating. For a bigger budget, you can make a more personal film, but it’s more difficult because you have to pay off the investment so you have to have it appeal to a lot of people. So generally, I think I’m less involved in that because I think movies at their best really challenge how we think. Most designed popular movies…usually just titillate us or make us forget our lives for a little while. I think I am more interested in movies that inspire us and challenge how we think. Most people, fair enough, don’t go to the movies for that.”

Willem Dafoe's #JusticeLeague role revealed: https://t.co/VHhvA5H849 pic.twitter.com/4UsyBWiTIh

— IGN (@IGN) June 21, 2016

Justice League is considered one of the most anticipated comic book films in years, even if it has been stifled a tad because of the poor reception from film critics of Batman V. Superman. The Justice League film is somewhat shrouded in mystery at this point, even though we know what characters will be in it, like Aquaman, Batman, The Flash, Superman, and Wonder Woman, but the rest is a little more speculative. Willem Dafoe, according to IGN, will be portraying a character from Aquaman’s DC Comics Universe. Dafoe’s character is known as Nuidis Vulko, an Atlantean whose occupation in the Aquaman comics is that of a “science advisor.” Dafoe spoke very little of the Justice League film.

“She (Gal Gadot) looks good. I don’t want to talk about that. I’ve got so many movies to talk about. I’ll let them orchestrate the publicity on that movie. I’m happy to be a part of it and when it comes out I’ll be talking about it ad nauseam. I shot part of it and I’ll go back and shoot some more. This is a DC Comics Justice League movie. Which is shooting now. Too soon to talk about.”

Willem Dafoe Talks ‘Justice League’ and ‘Spider-Man’ https://t.co/RRoyYfHtTw pic.twitter.com/bHhPYQdoQZ

— MediaByte (@TheMediaByte) July 3, 2016

Spider-Man is gearing up for another shot at big screen glory after The Amazing Spider-Man‘s second entry flopped. Willem Dafoe starred in the popular Sam Raimi Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2 and slightly less popular Spider-Man 3. Dafoe’s role as the Green Goblin was well received, and in the interview, he reflected on whether or not the role helped his acting career writ large.

“I think Spider-Man helped terrifically in that respect. Y’know, my struggle is, I try to make a certain type of a movie and some of those movies don’t get distributed widely. And if people don’t see you for a while, it’s hard to follow your career. And as distribution gets kind of less creative, the big movie takes all the interest of the people. So when you do a movie that’s widely distributed, popular and a good movie and what you do with it is regarded well, that has to be good for your career.”

Will the accomplished Willem Dafoe do as well with his future Justice League role? That is hard to say, but if he puts in the effort that he showed his Spider-Man role, it is likely that it will go just as well.

[Photo by Matej Divizna/Getty Images]