Alfred Molina to return as Doctor Octopus in 'Spider-Man 3'

Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Alfred Molina is set to reprise his role as Spider-Man villain Doctor Octopus in Sony and Marvel's upcoming third Spider-Man film starring Tom Holland in the lead role.

The Hollywood Reporter announced the casting, citing sources.

Variety and Deadline also confirmed the news.

Molina previously portrayed Doctor Octopus in 2004's Spider-Man 2 from director Sam Raimi that featured Tobey Maguire as the wall-crawler.

Jon Watts is returning to helm Holland's third Spider-Man entry after helming 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming and 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home.

The film is set for release on Dec. 17, 2021. Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers are writing the script.

Zendaya (MJ), Marisa Tomei (Aunt May) and Jacob Batalon (Ned) will be reprising their roles from Hollands first two films.

Jamie Foxx, like Molina, will also be reprising his role as the villainous Electro. Foxx first starred as Electro in 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which starred Andrew Garfield in the title role.

Foxx, in a deleted Instagram post from October, hinted at Maguire and Garfield returning as well for Holland's third film, bringing together multiple versions of Spider-Man.