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Alfred Molina spills details of his return as Doc Ock in Spider-Man: No Way Home

Somewhere, Mark Ruffalo and Tom Holland are basking in the glory of no longer being the MCU's spoilers-in-chief.

In an interview with Variety published Friday, Alfred Molina spilled a whole bunch of new details on his return as Doctor Octopus in the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home. EW previously confirmed that the actor would appear in the film, reprising his role from 2004's Spider-Man 2.

"When we were shooting [No Way Home], we were all under orders not to talk about it, because it was supposed to be some great big secret," Molina told Variety. "But, you know, it's all over the internet. I actually described myself as the worst kept secret in Hollywood!"

He went on to tease some better-kept secrets around the circumstances his return, noting that he asked director Jon Watts how Doc Ock would come back after dying in Spider-Man 2. According to Molina, Watts replied, "In this universe, no one really dies." The film will apparently pick up with Doc Ock after "that moment" in the East River, where he drowned himself to stop his mechanical tentacles from destroying the city.

Sony Pictures Alfred Molina in 'Spider-Man 2'

Molina added that digital de-aging technology will be used to recreate his appearance from nearly 20 years ago. He also asked Watts how the film would address his age, and "he just looked at me, and said, 'Did you see what we did to Bob Downey Jr. and Sam Jackson?'" the actor said. (CGI was used to de-age both Robert Downey Jr. in Captain America: Civil War and Samuel L. Jackson in Captain Marvel.)

Spider-Man studio Sony did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.

If rumors are to be believed, Molina is not the only actor from an earlier iteration of Spider-Man to be returning in No Way Home. Reports have emerged that Jamie Foxx will reprise the role of Electro, the villain he played in 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and it's rumored that Spider-Men of yore Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield will appear as well. The latter can't possibly be true, though — Holland, the current Peter Parker, said those rumors are false, and no Marvel actor has ever lied about something like this before, right? Right????

Spider-Man: No Way Home is set to hit theaters Dec. 17.

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