‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’: Why Jamie Foxx’s Electro Shouldn’t Have Been in the Movie
Spider-Man: No Way Home was a game-changing addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film not only effortlessly laid out the next chapter of Peter Parker’s journey as a character and a hero, but it brought back iconic heroes and villains from past films in the Spider-Man franchise. One of these villains is Electro, a character memorably portrayed by actor/rapper Jamie Foxx. Although many fans loved seeing Foxx back in action in the Spider-Man universe after a hiatus of many years, there are some who have pointed out that it actually didn’t make a lot of sense for Electro to be there in the context of the film.
Jamie Foxx portrays Electro/Max Dillon
Foxx first portrayed Electro/Max Dillon in the 2014 movie The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Originally introduced as an electrical engineer at Oscorp named Max Dillon, the character was shown to be obsessed with Spider-Man, considering him to be the ultimate “good guy.” After a freak accident that transforms him into a living electrical capacitor, Max Dillon becomes Electro. At the end of the film, Electro nearly kills Spider-Man, only to have Gwen Stacy intervene, overloading Electro with power and causing his body to explode.
Foxx made a return to the character in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, when Peter Parker accidentally summons people from other universes within the multiverse who know Spider-Man’s identity. This includes Electro/Max Dillon, who seems mild-mannered at first, only to rediscover his villainous ways as the film goes on. In the end, he is redeemed, with the help of all the assembled Peter Parkers from across the Spider-Man universes.
Was Electro’s return in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ a plot hole?
Although fans loved seeing Foxx back in action in Spider-Man: No Way Home, there were those who felt that the character being there was a little out of place. According to a video on the WatchMojo YouTube channel, since Stephen Strange tells Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland, that only those who know Peter Parker is Spider-Man were pulled through the multiverse, Electro shouldn’t have been there at all — since in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, he never found out Peter’s true identity.
During Electro’s final scene in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Electro even seems surprised when “his” Peter Parker, played by Andrew Garfield, reveals himself to be “just a kid,” with Electro telling him that he has a “nice face.” Ultimately, since the movie even acknowledges that Electro never knew Peter Parker was Spider-Man, the only explanation that really exists for him being there is so fans could see Foxx as the character again.
Why did Jamie Foxx decide to return as Electro in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’?
As for Foxx, he was happy to reprise the role of Electro/Max Dillon. In a panel interview in advance of the film’s release, Foxx revealed that “I was excited knowing Amy (Pascal) for years, man, and knowing what she’s done with this franchise, and she was explaining to me that it’s gonna be hot, and I didn’t have to be blue, and things like that as far as my character is concerned, so you’re gonna be a little more hip, and that I get a chance to hang out with these incredible thespians.”
Foxx also told NBC News that he was thrilled for the chance to play a villain once again. “I love being a villain,” the multi-talented star said. “What’s great about the villains in Marvel, they didn’t start off being bad. Something happened to them — so it doesn’t come off where they just want to do bad.”
