It’s official: Alfred Molina will return as Doctor Octopus in next year’s Spider-Man movie.

It’s not official: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone will return, tying together the three 21st century iterations of Spidey and friends.

Alfred Molina is reprising his role as the villainous Doctor Octopus, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Molina played the nemesis of Maguire’s Spider-Man in Sam Raimi’s 2004 sequel Spider-Man 2 as Otto Octavius, a brilliant scientist turned octopodian villain.

Molina joins Jamie Foxx, who was already signed to the newest version recreating his role as Electro, as we reported back in October. This plays into the multi-verse idea, in which the worlds of the first two Sony-produced Spider-Man franchises are blended into the Sony-Marvel co-production.

The as-yet unnamed film starring Tom Holland is slated for a December 17, 2021 release, and has Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home director Jon Watts back behind the camera. Benedict Cumberbatch will appear in the film as Doctor Strange while familiar Spider-Man actors expected to return include Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, Jacob Batalon and Tony Revolori.

Unofficial but still very possible is the return of Maguire, Garfield, Dunst and Stone. Collider reported today that it’s just a deal or two away from happening.

They’re all coming back. Everyone.

Just like Jamie Foxx’s Electro, Andrew Garfield will be back, and if Sony/Marvel can close a deal with Tobey Maguire, he’ll be back too. Kirsten Dunst will return as MJ, and I expect Emma Stone to reprise her role as Gwen Stacy, pregnancy permitting. Why? Because this third Spider-Man movie starring Tom Holland will delve into the multi-verse.

Collider, ‘Spider-Man 3’ Bringing Back Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus & Past Peter Parkers

If this sounds familiar, it’s because Sony paved the way by introducing the multiverse in 2018’s animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. And in case you were wondering, that film’s post-credits scene confirmed Venom took place elsewhere in its multiverse.

Since Sony owns the film right to Spider-Man (the studio made a deal with Disney/Marvel for Peter Parker to appear in the MCU,) this could set up a Spider-Verse franchise leading to many interesting – and presumably lucrative – future films.