Andrew Garfield, since the beginning of the rumors announcing a possible reappearance of his Peter Parker in No Way Home, strongly deny. He finally speaks after the release of the film, and we take stock of his recent statements.
WARNING: this article contains spoils concerning Spider-Man : No Way Home. Don’t read on if you don’t want to read it.
Andrew Garfield and his old statements
Be careful, the spoiler starts here.
After spending the whole of 2021 at deny his participation in the film Spider-Man : No Way Home (while Tobey Maguire was more or less walled in silence), Andrew Garfield finally returned to his participation in this new opus. It was, after all, an open secret : No Way Home, led by Tom Holland’s Spidey, brought back several actors from the character’s previous franchises, and various leaks had exposed the secret … Before Andrew Garfield strongly denies.
The actor put forward different hypotheses : photo montages, false rumors … Everything was good to try to convince the public that he was not playing in the film. The actor insisted so vehemently on the fact he wasn’t playing in No Way Home that fans now claim he deserves an Oscar for his performance in interviews throughout 2021.
Andrew Garfield discusses his performance in the film
Whereas the film Spider-Man : No Way Home been out for almost a month, Andrew Garfield finally broke his silence in a new interview with Variety. The first question to the actor was: “To begin with, why did you say ‘yes’ to No Way Home?”. Andrew Garfield responds :
I didn’t expect to have a conversation about playing Peter Parker again. I was very excited to be a fan again. But I got this call from Amy Pascal, Kevin Feige, and Jon Watts with this idea. (…) It sounded incredibly fun, incredibly witty, trippy, and thematically interesting. Basically, as a Spider-Man fan, the idea of seeing three Spider-Man in the same setting was enough.
The pitch was really, really appealing. They said, “You played this character your own way and what would you want to explore if you had the chance? If you were thrown into this other universe and faced with this young you and this older you, how would you react? -you? “.
Andrew Garfield then returned to the stage where he saves the GM from Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, and declares:
We toured for two weeks, Tobey and I, but I think we managed to do something that wasn’t just showing up and saying “Hi!”
My Spider-Man was able to save his younger brother’s romantic relationship, potentially. And heal the most traumatic moment of her own life by doing it for her little brother. Making sure he doesn’t have the same fate, there is something cosmically beautiful about that. It meant having a second chance to save Gwen. You know, the spirit that Zendaya brings to MJ is so sincere, pure, and loving, it’s reminiscent of that unique spirit Emma brought to Gwen.
During the interview, we also learn that a very nice sequence of the film was totally improvised by Andrew Garfield. The actor indeed reveals to have spent time with the two other actors, having discovered Tom Holland, and very much appreciate it. He declares :
There’s a line that I improvised in the movie, looking at them both I tell them I love them. It was just me who loved them.
L’interview continue, with the following question: “Much of our conversation about this movie was about some sort of redemption for your Spider-Man. From a narrative and business perspective. How does that do to you?”. Andrew Garfield responds :
I am so grateful. I’m just very, very grateful that I was able to sort out the final details of the Peter I was playing. I love this character and I am grateful that I got to work with these amazing actors, this amazing director and Marvel in collaboration with Sony. It was a joy and a feeling of ending for me. There were so many unanswered questions for my Peter, right where we left off. I was able to go back and heal him a bit. I also supported the Peter of [Holland] and honored his character by completing the trilogy, without distracting from it.
And finally, to the question “Would you be ready to take over the character?”, Andrew Garfield says:
I mean, yeah, I’m definitely open to something if that sounds right to me. Peter and Spider-Man, these characters are all at the service of the greatest good and the greatest number. He is a working class boy from Queens who knows struggle and loss and is deeply empathetic. I would try to borrow the ethical framework of Peter Parker in that, if I had the opportunity to go back and tell this story more, I should feel very sure of myself.
After reading this interview, one element jumps out at us: the films The Amazing Spider-Man are generally the least popular Spider-Man movies, and Garfield himself has openly expressed his disappointment with them. With No Way Home, however, the actor feels much better, and has been able to “sort out the final details of the Peter I was playing “, as he puts it so well. As Andrew Garfield previously revealed, it was all about turning the page, and we can say he did it very well.
Now, many fans will surely wonder what will follow. As of yet, there are no official plans for another Garfield comeback, but there are plenty of rumors already circulating on social media. We have already looking forward to find out what will come next, just like the millions of Spider-Man fans around the world.
And if you want to know which post-credits scene was planned with Tobey Maguire et Tom Holland, you can consult our previous article on this subject.