With the release of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, fans have been dreaming of seeing Tobey Maguire back donning the classic costume. After the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, they finally got their wish. Maguire, who played the original live-action Spider-Man/Peter Parker from 2002 to 2007, returned to play the character in the latest film installment of the wall-crawler's franchise.
Now that enough time has passed since the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, it was only a matter of time before the public would get to see the three actors who played the titular character reflect on their experience working together. In an interview with Maguire, Tom Holland, and Andrew Garfield that surfaced on the official Spider-Man YouTube channel, Maguire detailed what factored into his decision to come back to play the character he hadn't portrayed in 14 years.
"I was intrigued immediately [...] The intention. The kind of love and celebration of these movies and what it meant to Amy and Kevin was apparent, and to me, when artists or, you know, people who are steering the creative process have a kind of authentic, genuine intent of celebration and love, it just was so apparent in both of them, that, I don’t know, I wanted to join that," Maguire said to Deadline’s Pete Hammond. Of course, Maguire added that he was a fan of Holland and Garfield's takes on Spider-Man and he was curious to see what the characters would do together. Furthermore, Maguire stated, "There are personal things, too, which are kind of resolutions or a way to revisit. I’m not quite sure how to put it. Just to get back into that. I don’t want to say close the chapter, but revisit and have certain resolutions and join in this loving and creative spirit.”
What made Maguire's role in Spider-Man: No Way Home special - and by extension Garfield's - was that his Spider-Man played a vital role in the climax of the movie. Marvel Studios could have approached his return to the role as a fun, brief cameo for fan service and nothing more. Instead, they brought him back to play a mentorship role for Holland's Spider-Man, which only served to develop both the story and Holland's character. In essence, the movie was better off for having him play an important character as opposed to being merely a nostalgic callback.
The only question that remains is, what's next for Maguire and his role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Given the fantastic reception he got for his comeback as Spider-Man, it would make all the sense in the world for Marvel Studios to bring him back for more installments in the near future. How they would handle that is anyone's guess. Do they collaborate with Sony to resume his original movies to build a live-action Spider-Verse, or will they bring him back for more MCU installments as they continue to explore the multiverse?
Marvel Studios deserves props for exploring all of these avenues to keep fans invested in its cinematic universe. Especially since, thus far, it's working out incredibly well. However, going the multiverse route can put Marvel Studios at risk of going way off the rails. As mind-blowingly fun as it is that Marvel Studios is apparently bringing back actors who had previously played superheroes before its cinematic universe started, that will eventually lose its luster. When it does, Marvel Studios has to ensure that, more than anything, everything will still make sense. As tall of a tale as that is, Marvel Studios has already pulled off the impossible, so if anyone can do it, it can.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is now playing in theaters.
Source: Spider-Man/YouTube