Andrew Garfield Says He'd Return as Spider-Man, But Only if Marvel Does Something "Completely Unexpected"
There are few superhero casting stories fans refuse to let go of, and Andrew Garfield returning as Spider-Man is right near the top of that list.
After stealing plenty of scenes in Spider-Man: No Way Home, fans have been hoping Marvel and Sony would find another excuse to bring his version of Peter Parker back into the mix. Garfield hasn't ruled it out either, but if it happens, he has one very specific request.
Speaking on The Playlist's The Discourse podcast, Garfield was asked what it would take for him to suit up as Spider-Man again. His answer makes it clear he isn't interested in doing more of the same. "I don't know. I really don't know.”
He went on to explain that he'd only come back if the story took Spider-Man somewhere completely new. "I would need it to be very, very odd.
“I would need it to be very strange, and I would need it to be completely unconventional and almost – I wouldn't say boring – but I would want it to be just completely unexpected, like a genre of Spider-Man that you've never seen before, that feels very left field."
That's actually a pretty fascinating idea. We've seen Spider-Man in coming-of-age adventures, multiverse spectacles, street-level crime stories, animated epics, and cosmic crossovers. But Garfield seems interested in something that breaks the mold entirely rather than simply dropping his Peter Parker into another team-up movie.
When asked what that might even look like, he admitted he doesn't have the answer himself, but he did toss out one entertaining possibility. "And I don’t even know what that would be. Maybe like a road trip movie."
A Spider-Man road trip movie sounds weird enough that I'd absolutely buy a ticket. That's the kind of out in left field creative swing that could give Garfield's version of Peter Parker a fresh identity instead of simply revisiting familiar territory.
Garfield last appeared as Spider-Man in Spider-Man: No Way Home, where he joined Tobey Maguire and Tom Holland in one of Marvel's biggest crowd-pleasing moments.
His emotional performance, especially as he found redemption by saving MJ, reminded audiences just how much people still loved his take on the character. Since then, though, his Spider-Man has disappeared from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Meanwhile, Holland is back on the big screen in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is now playing in theaters. The film has been earning plenty of praise, and lots and lot of money.
After that, Marvel's attention turns to Avengers: Doomsday, which arrives in theaters on December 18.
As for Garfield, I really hope Marvel finds the right project to bring him back. His version of Peter Parker still feels like there's more story left to tell, and No Way Home proved audiences are more than ready to see him swing back into action.
If Marvel can come up with something as strange and unexpected as Garfield is asking for, it could end up being one of the most exciting Spider-Man stories we've seen. Here's hoping it happens sooner rather than later.