Yes. They’re The Only Ones Who Could Play The Parts
No. Feige Is Mistaken.
I’m Not Sure.
Yes and no.
In general, I strongly believe in the principal that no actor is greater than the character.
That said, the Raimi Spider-Man movies are still very much at the forefront of the popular consciousness when it comes to Spider-Man adaptations and, for better or worse, are still considered the gold standard for the character on film. The core target audience for the MCU today are people who grew up watching the Raimi films. So it makes sense that Marvel would hesitate to recast Willem Dafoe as Green Goblin and Alfred Molina as Doc Ock.
The same applies to a bunch of other characters - RDJ as Iron Man, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool etc. These iterations of the character are just so ingrained in people's minds that it'd be extremely difficult for a new actor to make a mark.
I think it comes down to how exposed audiences are to multiple iterations. We're used to Batman and Superman being recast all the time. Or the Joker. Or Spider-Man. But we're not used to seeing Wolverine and Iron Man being recast.
Somewhere, a decision needs to be made to recast these characters. And it inevitably will be made. But for now, I can understand Feige wanting to hold off on doing that. Especially since Dafoe's Goblin has now been cemented as an iconic MCU villain.
And the plus side of not wanting to recast is that it forces the creators to dip into the well of the Spidey mythos and find villains who haven't been seen on-screen yet. Every time the Joker or Penguin gets recast, as great as it is, we miss out on the chance to see Clayface or the Mad Hatter or Hugo Strange in live-action. If we keep getting Green Goblin recasts, we probably won't get Hobgoblin on screen. And so on...
Is it a hobby of his' to get himself electrocuted too? .
Well, MCU already used Raimi's GG and Spidey Home 3 points out there's no Oscorp, so it sounds like Norman is out of the picture.
Maybe they'll do it like that Spidey cartoon that had Vulture becoming Goblin King, and have him become Iron Patriot .
"Has Sariel summoned you here, Azrael? Have you come to witness the miracle of your brethren arriving on Earth?"
"I WILL MIX THE ASHES OF YOUR BONES WITH SALT AND USE THEM TO ENSURE THE EARTH THE TEMPLARS TILLED NEVER BEARS FRUIT AGAIN!"
"*sigh* I hoped it was for the miracle."
Dan Watters' Azrael was incredible, a constant delight and perhaps too good for this world (but not the Forth). For the love of St. Dumas, DC, give us more!!!