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Andrew Garfield Is Happy He's No Longer Spider-Man, and Gives Tom Holland His Blessing

Though we expected bitterness from Andrew Garfield, he happily gave Tom Holland his blessing.

By Max FarrowPublished 6 years ago 6 min read
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On the movie front, things appear to be going very well for Spider-Man! He had a great cameo in #CaptainAmericaCivilWar, and his approaching film, #SpiderManHomecoming, looks more and more amazing with every bit of news that’s thrown our way. Speaking of amazing though, in all this excitement, it’s very easy to forget that some movies and plans have been left by the wayside. Indeed, the 10th June 2016 was once the release date of the concluding installment in Marc Webb’s Amazing Spider-Man series.

Given that Tom Holland’s Spidey has now been so readily received, should we expect some bitterness from our erstwhile wall-crawler Andrew Garfield?

An Amazing Spider-Man

Garfield as Spidey [Sony Entertainment]

The Amazing Spider-Man series is certainly divisive, and it still causes many fans to spontaneously lambast its tonal inconsistencies and its story problems if its mentioned in conversation. However, with such powerful scenes like Uncle Ben’s (Martin Sheen) demise as well as Gwen Stacy’s (Emma Stone) death, it’s safe to say that Andrew Garfield’s web-slinger had his moments.

A lifelong Spidey fan, the accomplished actor brought some sass and self-assurance back to Spider-Man — even though his time in the suit was marred by his frequent clashes with studio execs concerning the direction of the movies. Following his apparent snub of one particular honcho, it’s rumored that Garfield never even received a call to say that he was fired!

So, is Garfield a tad jaded about the whole thing? Since he openly campaigned for a crossover with the Avengers in his movies, we’d have expected him to be a little bit annoyed that Tom Holland got the coveted opportunity. But in true gentlemanly fashion, he was very enthusiastic about Homecoming when he was quizzed by Fandango:

"If I am being totally honest, I am so excited Spider-Man is back in the hands of Marvel. I think that's a really awesome move.”

As do we all, Andrew — as do we all! Though I can’t help but feel a bit sad that we don’t get to see his Spidey sassing Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark. Many people had assumed that Garfield was going to crossover with the #MarvelCinematicUniverse at some point, and speculation increased even more after it was revealed that the New York skyline in The Amazing Spider-Man almost featured Avengers Tower. But of course, it never happened, and if The Amazing Spider-Man 3 had ever been made, it seems that Garfield’s Spidey would have had a lot of craziness to deal with, without the added outlandishness of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes...

What Would The Amazing Spider-Man 3 Have Been Like?

As Moviepilot’s own Alisha Grauso points out, The Amazing Spider-Man series struggled to get into its own groove. Indeed, the first installment evidently mimicked the grounded aesthetics of The Dark Knight, whilst the brightly colored tone of the second apes that of The Avengers.

So what could we have seen in movie numero 3? Well, from the sounds of it, things would have reverted back to the more grounded tone of the first film. A major theme running through the story would have been Peter still coming to terms with Gwen’s death as he continues to fight crime. It would also have seen the return of the Osborn family, with Norman (Chris Cooper) in a substantially increased role, the involvement of various members of the Sinister Six and...a cure for death??

Certainly Denis Leary, Captain George Stacy himself, told IGN that in the third movie,

“...there was this idea ...that Spider-Man would be able to take this formula and regenerate the people in his life that had died...”

Denis Leary as George Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 [Sony Entertainment]

Whilst this certainly ties into the plot points of the previous films concerning healing blood and limb re-growth, this certainly feels like a step too far.

It must be noted that many films have wackier elements which are soon discarded in the pre-production process, so it’s likely that the regenerative formula may have been jettisoned before filming began. Having said that, current comic book writer Dan Slott seems to have borrowed this plot point in his latest Spider-Man story line.

You may think that I'm being a bit cynical here about the idea of resurrecting characters, but honestly, if its done well in a movie, it could be excellent. Exploring themes about mortality, and whether or not bringing the dead back to life is a violation of natural law and morality is excellent stuff for a movie to sink its teeth into.

Spider-Man in the Clone Conspiracy [Marvel Comics]

But such stories have to be treated carefully, otherwise they can easily undermine the emotional impact of the initial death.

Sure, there is a logical reason for Peter pursuing this medicine since his girlfriend has been killed, but this scenario delves too much into mad-scientist territory and could be far too corny, even for Spider-Man! I can't help but hope that Tom Holland’s Peter Parker doesn’t get involved in anything like this!

Feeling the Spider-Love!

Image: Sony

Whatever happens between Spider-Man and the Vulture, it looks like there’s going to be one big fan sat in a cinema somewhere, if Garfield’s interview is anything to go by:

"... I think [Tom is] a very emotional, truthful, funny, physical actor, and I love the filmmaker -- it all really couldn't be in any better hands. I'm really stoked for it."

How sweet is that?! Sure, you’d expect him to be nice for appearances, but this isn’t the first time that he’s vocally supported his successor. Last year, Garfield said how happy he was for Tom Holland in an interview, following the latter’s casting announcement, and, in a truly complimentary fashion, Holland called Garfield the “perfect Spider-Man,” expressing a worry that his own performance wouldn’t be able to match that of Garfield’s, and highlighted that he was going to borrow bits from both of his predecessors because they were that good.

Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man [Sony Entertainment]

And if that doesn’t warm your heart of stone, the first Spider-Man, Tobey Maguire, seems to love the pair of them right back! In 2010, Garfield revealed that Maguire had passed on a message through their mutual friends which:

"...gave me his support, and it meant a great deal, of course, because part of the reason I love and have continued to love this character was because of his portrayal. To step into those shoes is no mean feat. It was generous of him to reach out and say something, so I'm thankful."

And then there was that Instagram video where he called Holland a “great Spider-Man.” Seriously, how cute are these guys together? They do their comic book counterpart proud!

A Bright and Shining Future

Andrew Garfield in Hacksaw Ridge [Cross Creek Pictures]

Whether or not you liked or disliked Andrew Garfield’s or Tobey Maguire’s interpretations of the character, you can’t deny that both have helped to perpetuate the current “Golden Age” of superhero movies. And in Garfield’s case especially, he doesn’t really seem that bitter about everything that has happened in relation to Marvel, Sony or the webbed wonder. Moreover, he stated how “incredibly grateful” he is that someone else is now Spider-Man, since it has allowed him to move onto other projects:

“To be honest, I would not have been able to work with Mel Gibson and Martin Scorsese if I had done Spider-Man 3..."

In Hacksaw Ridge, he plays US Army Medic Desmond Doss, who in an almost superheroic fashion, saved 75 lives in the heat of battle without firing any weapons. In Martin Scorsese’s Silence, he stars alongside Liam Neeson and Kylo Ren – sorry, Adam Driver – as a Christian missionary facing persecution in Japan.

Garfield and Maguire: alluded to in the Spider-Verse event [Marvel Comics]

He certainly has a prestigious and admirable slate of films laid out in front of him, but would he ever return to Spider-Man? Would the Cinematic Universe tempt him back into the tights? There is a lot of speculation that, with #DoctorStrange all set to fling our heroes deep into the multi-verse, that in the near future we may see alternate worlds and various versions of our favorite heroes intermingling.

Does this mean that a version of the 'Spider-Verse' event will hit our screens? For now its unlikely, given that it hasn't been alluded to by anyone at Marvel Studios. However, given that Garfield doesn't seem too frosty about his past dealings with Sony it is not outside the realms of possibility. But seriously, how cool would it be if Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield all shared the screen as Spidey?!

The Spider-Men united [Sony]

Whether or not 'Spider-Verse' comes to our cinema screens, we've had some great times with Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man. As sorry as we are to see him gone from Spidey, it's good to see that he's gone on to work on some fantastic films, which we can't wait to see. Both his, and Spider-Man's futures look -ahem - amazing!

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About the Creator

Max Farrow

A fanatical film-watcher, hill-walker, aspiring author, freelance writer and biscuit connoisseur.

These articles first appeared on Movie Pilot between Jan 2016 and Dec 2017. Follow me on Twitter @Farrow91

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