Tom Holland reveals that he regrets not speaking to previous Spider-Man actor, Andrew Garfield, before he took on the role of the MCU’s Spider-Man. Holland made his debut as the iconic hero in 2015’s Captain America: Civil War. The star has since played the character in 5 subsequent movies, including 3 solo films.
In 2012, Sony rebooted their Spider-Man franchise with a younger, new take on their iconic hero after the Sam Raimi trilogy reshaped superhero movies throughout the 2000s with The Amazing Spider-Man. Casting Garfield as the high-school-aged hero Peter Parker, Marc Webb’s take on the hero was darker, more grounded approach with ambitions to launch a new cinematic universe. Despite these hopes, Sony’s plans fell through following a less-than-ideal response to The Amazing Spider-Man 2, as well as underperformance at the box office. The studio cut Garfield’s time in the role short, scrapping future plans and casting Tom Holland as new MCU-set Spider-Man, co-producing the film with Marvel Studios. While Holland’s role made him a beloved star and many people’s ideal portrayal of Spider-Man, the actor admits he has one regret about taking the role.
Speaking to THR about his latest Spider-Man adventure in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Holland explained that he regrets not getting Garfield’s blessing before taking on the role. Holland stated that he imagined that Garfield would be heartbroken about his time in the role being cut short, leading to Holland regretting not talking to him and making amends when he joined the MCU. However, Holland explained that No Way Home not only gave him the chance to make amends, but the opportunity for Garfield to find closure for his portrayal, highlighting the scene where Garfield’s Spider-Man saved MJ (Zendaya) from falling to her death resolving his regret regarding Gwen Stacey’s (Emma Stone) death. Check out Holland’s response below:
“Something I can look back on now with a little bit of clarity and regret is that I never called [Garfield] when I took over as Spider-Man. Had someone said to me after my second movie that I was done and this other kid was taking over, I would’ve been heartbroken. So looking back, I wish I had the chance to make amends with him, but this film was our opportunity. It was not only an opportunity for him to make peace with the character and the studio, but it was also an opportunity for me and him to have this moment where we realize we could share this thing. The look on his face when he saves Zendaya [MJ] is totally genuine, and I’m really proud of him.”
Pitched on the film with the MJ rescue, Garfield felt that his rescue of MJ was profound. The scene was one of the highly speculated moments in the run-up to the film’s release, as fans theorized a scene depicting MJ falling in the trailer would parallel Garfield’s movie, with Holland saving MJ as a way of subverting audience expectations. While fans were ultimately wrong about Holland rescuing MJ, the film instead saw Garfield rescue MJ, directly referencing Gwen’s fate and almost breaking into tears by making up for one of his most impactful failures since Uncle Ben’s (Martin Sheen) death in his original film. Though No Way Home brought his character arc to a good endpoint, Garfield is open to future movies.
Holland’s concern for Garfield’s response to his casting is a touching sight for fans. While his MCU take on Spider-Man was well-received and beloved, his taking the role did result in Garfield’s time being cut short. Garfield had been incredibly passionate about his time as Spider-Man, admitting that he was heartbroken about losing the role in 2021. While Holland may not have gotten the chance to speak to his predecessor in 2015, Spider-Man: No Way Home allowed him to make amends while also bringing Garfield’s incarnation closure in a spectacular tribute to Spider-Man‘s cinematic history.
Source: THR
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