Los Angeles, Dec 9 (IANS): Actor Alfred Molina will reprise his role as the evil Doctor Octopus in the upcoming third installment of the Tom Holland-led Spider-Man franchise.

Molina portrayed the evil Doctor Octopus in the 2004 release, "Spider-Man 2" starring Tobey Maguire as rthe webbed superhero.

The upcoming adventure is expected to feature multiple generations of "Spider-Man" actors, and that is the reason actors from the past films are expected to reprise their characters.

Actor Jamie Foxx will reportedly appear as Electro, a villain he first played opposite Andrew Garfield in "The Amazing Spider-Man 2", reports variety.com.

There will also be Marvel Cinematic Universe crossovers in "Spider-Man 3" with Benedict Cumberbatch making an appearance as Doctor Strange.

Director Jon Watts is returning for the third "Spider-Man" film in the current series, with Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers writing the script. Actors Zendaya, Marisa Tomei and Jacob Batalon are all reprising their roles.

Holland was introduced as Spider-Man in "Captain America: Civil War" in 2016. He got his first solo film with "Spider-Man: Homecoming" -- which took the superhero back to school. He was back as the superhero with his second solo movie "Spider-Man: Far From Home".

The third "Spider-Man" film is scheduled for a theatre release on December 17, 2021.